Adam Brody still regrets losing that role to Chris Pratt
While on the “Just for Variety” podcast, Adam Brody revealed to host Marc Malkin “there were a lot” of roles he didn’t get that he really wanted.
‘The OC’ star went through a list of his least successful auditions, from playing Justin Bartha in Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck’s ‘Gigli’ to a younger version of Lloyd Christmas (Jim Carrey) in the prequel “Dumb and Dumber” from 2003.
However, the recent role he was most heartbroken for was as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy.”
Chris Pratt finally got the role of the earthly leader in charge of a dangerous group of misfits trying to save the universe in the 2014 Marvel movie directed by James Gunn.
Pratt portrayed the character for two sequels and a holiday special.
“I wanted that one,” Brody said, admitting he agrees Pratt was a “better” candidate for the space adventurer.
che added. “But sonically, I really dug it.”
Brody and Pratt were brief co-stars on “The OC” when the latter played activist Ché Cook, aka Winchester Cook, in the teen drama’s fourth season.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, more than 200 actors auditioned for the role, including “Shazam! by Brody. co-star Zachary Levi and “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” star Glenn Howerton, who was ultimately Gunn’s second choice.
Pratt, whom Gunn saw simply as the chubby character Andy Dwyer on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation,” was declared perfect for the role seconds after he auditioned.
Brody has auditioned for a handful of other superhero movies, sharing that he read for ‘The Green Lantern’ and “was in a ‘Justice League’ for a minute, an abortive.”
The actor finally makes his big debut in the genre in “Shazam! Fury of the Gods,” after making a surprise appearance in “Shazam! in 2019.
“It was a long time coming and I don’t know, it was fun,” Brody said.
“It was a novelty, and I would definitely do more, but at this point in my life and my career – and at this point in their saturation – I didn’t feel like I had arrived.”