Desperate times call for desperate measures, as Chris Pratt learned during the uncertain early days of ‘Parks and Recreation‘. In Jim O’Heir’s new book, ‘Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation‘, Pratt shares how he used the chaos to keep the show afloat when cancellation loomed.
The actor revealed the lengths he went to to retain his show although it wasn’t such a promising job being an actor on the show. Here’s everything Pratt said.
Chris Pratt Reveals His Early Days As ‘Parks And Recreation’ Actor
Chris Pratt opens up about his early days as part of ‘Parks and Recreation‘, in Jim O’Heir’s new book, ‘Welcome to Pawnee: Stories of Friendship, Waffles, and Parks and Recreation‘.”You have to remember, the show was always on the bubble,” Pratt recalls in the book.
“It felt like we were fighting for our jobs — [such] that my friend just told me, ‘You just have to go in there and start breaking s—. People love to see stuff get broken. If you’re going to get canceled, just go down swinging,'” he added.
Pratt was going to test his friend’s words in the episode ‘Greg Pikitis‘ of season 2. He included his lovable and clumsy character Andy Dwyer on a hilariously misguided adventure of revenge with Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler). The bull-in-a-china-shop behavior of Andy was going full force.
“On that episode, I took a glass, smashed it on the wall, it broke a sign,” Pratt said. “The kid who played Greg Pikitis, he kind of broke and laughed, which was on camera. and then I started just making s— up, and it ended up being funny and it made the episode.”
‘Parks and Recreation’ Was Almost Canceled Multiple Times
This unplanned chaos unleashed Chris Pratt’s inner wrecking ball, and he leaned into it for the rest of the series. “From that point on, it gave me permission to just destroy s—. I went through so many props — I was breaking computers, I’d put a huge dent in a car. I just did the craziest stuff,” Pratt shared. “There were times where it was like, ‘Props can’t fix that, electrical has to come in,'” the ‘Star Trek‘ actor said.
It’s hard to fathom now, but ‘Parks and Recreation‘ was nearly canceled multiple times. Showrunner Michael Schur revealed the cast and crew lived in constant uncertainty. “Every year, we got to the end of the season, and we didn’t know whether we were coming back,” Schur said. “We never took any of it for granted because we almost got canceled so many times.”
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But in many ways, Pratt’s antics probably kept the show going and sealed its legacy of charm. The actor’s metamorphosis from “the sweaty guy who didn’t give a s—,” as he describes his early days on the show, to one of Hollywood’s most recognizable stars may well mirror the show’s own transformation.
Now on a “renaissance” of popularity, ‘Parks and Recreation‘ is one of TV’s favorite sitcoms. Pratt’s smash-happy contributions have become part of the lore, proving sometimes the best way to save a show is by breaking a few things along the way.
