‘Parks and Recreation’: Chris Pratt Ate 16 Racks of Ribs in 1 Day for the Most ‘Andy Dwyer’ Reason
Many know Chris Pratt from his superhero status in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor’s body has been a part of his work for years and was apparent during his time on NBC’s Parks and Recreation. Playing the affable Andy Dwyer came at a price, and as Pratt once recalled, that price came in the form of ribs — a lot of ribs.
‘Parks and Recreation’ costars bet on how much weight Chris Pratt could gain
The Guardians of the Galaxy star maintains a fit physique now, but playing Andy Dwyer for seven seasons took a toll. Pratt previously told ET Online about his weight gain, saying it was unintentional at first.
“Well, I remember in the first couple of seasons, just unintentionally, I had gotten a little fat, and I was watching the episodes, and I was like, ‘Oh, God, Chris, you’ve really let yourself go,’” he said. “And then I was like, ‘but this is some of the funniest stuff you’ve ever done.’”
Series co-creator Michael Schur mentioned he’d like to see Pratt put on about 30-40 pounds.
“And so I did,” Pratt said. “Then it became a challenge. Everyone wanted to see how much I could eat. I remember in the first couple of seasons, just unintentionally, I’d gotten a little fat, and I was watching the episodes. I was like, ‘Oh God, Chris; you really let yourself go,’” he said.
“And then I was like, ‘But this is some of the funniest stuff you’ve ever done.’ And I went to Mike Schur, our creator, and I said, ‘I wanna gain like another 30-40 pounds.’ And he was like, ‘Ok.’ And so I did.”
Why Pratt ate 16 racks of ribs in a single day for ‘Parks and Recreation’
Fans of Parks and Rec have come to expect a few things from Pratt’s character Andy. We know he’ll say or do something hilarious, and we know he’ll eat. Pratt previously told Jimmy Kimmel Live! (per Entertainment Weekly) about the day, he ate way too many ribs.
“They gave us dinosaur-sized portions. And so I didn’t have anything to say in the scene. So inevitably, I wanted to try to get some screen time, and I decided I would eat one rack of ribs per take,” he said. “And if the camera happened to catch me, I would absolutely be inhaling ribs. I went through 12 racks of ribs, which is the equivalent of six pigs.”
He continued: “If I can make [Nick Offerman] laugh, it tickles me to no end. And so I knew it was making Nick laugh. I was making myself sick. And then at lunch, because our catering company was creating the ribs, they cooked ribs,” he added. “I sat down with another four racks of ribs next to Nick. And ate the ribs, and I got a big laugh. I gave myself a food coma.”
That’s a lot of ribs, but co-star Aziz Ansari said Pratt’s capable of more.
Aziz Ansari said this about Pratt and cheeseburgers
In a 2012 Reddit AMA, Ansari — who plays Tom Haverford on the sitcom — gave more insight into working with Pratt.
“I say this about everyone, but seriously, Chris is the sweetest, funniest guy. He always also never uses a spit bucket,” he said. “When you do scenes where a character is eating, you eat and then spit it out into a “spit bucket.” Chris just keeps eating. If you see Andy eating a cheeseburger in a scene, you should know Chris Pratt ate like 8 cheeseburgers. I love that guy and everyone on Parks. Cannot overstate this!*
*Does not include Jerry.”
All of this is so very Andy Dwyer, but could Star-Lord do the same damage? We think not.
