Chris Pratt’s amazing rise, from relative unknown to mega-star, over the last few years has been remarkable. Prior to his work on TV’s Parks and Recreation and 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Pratt grinded his way up from bit film parts, animated voice-overs, and recurring TV roles over fifteen long years. Today he’s one of Hollywood’s biggest actors, and yet he remains incredibly self-effacing and down-to-earth in every interview and public appearance, which probably explains a lot of his “everyman” appeal.

LRM‘s Nancy Tapia was on-site during a recent Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 junket, where she caught up with Pratt and asked him about meeting the legendary Kurt Russell for the first time:

“You know, you promise yourself you’re not going to do this thing that happens every time you meet someone who’s an icon. Someone that you’ve known way longer than they’ve ever known you, and you’ve seen all their stuff… You have this opportunity, from time to time, if you’re lucky to work with someone like a Kurt Russell. And you promise yourself where you’re not going to do the thing where you geek out, but it’s a little inauthentic if you don’t. If you just go in there and go, ‘oh what is it Kurt? Kurt, hey, nice to meet you, Chris’ and don’t acknowledge the fact that how much I love him and what a fan I am , if you don’t get that out of the way, and then it feels a little inauthentic.”

RELATED: James Gunn On Making Sure Guardians 2 Isn’t A Rehash

Pratt explains that over the course of filming he developed a strong relationship with Russell:

“Then there’s this really cool thing, that’s probably the one thing that I never would have imagined when I first moved to Hollywood. The greatest part of it, the biggest secret of is, you get to be someone’s friend, someone’s peer rather than [just] a fan, and that’s really nice. I think Kurt and I have become friends. We connected on a lot of things inside and outside of the movie, and you know, [now] I have his cell phone number.”

What are your expectations for the Pratt and Russell relationship in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? Let us know in the comments down below!

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits theaters on May 17, 2017.

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