From Avengersto Guardians of the Galaxy toJurassic World, Chris Pratt has acted in his fair share of hit movie franchises — but he didn't become a star overnight.

Born in Washington, Pratt began acting professionally in the early 2000s, making minor appearances on shows including The Huntress before earning recurring gigs on such popular programs as Everwoodand The O.C. From there, he made the leap into film, acting in comedies from Bride Wars, to Jennifer's Body, andTake Me Home Tonight.

In 2009, he landed his breakout role as Andy Dwyer on Parks and Recreation, which provided a pathway to leading-man status. Five years later, he would earn a starring role in Guardians of the Galaxy, which spawned multiple sequels and scored him a spot in two Avengers movies. A year after Guardians came out, Pratt played the lead in Jurassic World.

Over his career, he's also racked up a few producing credits, lending his talent to a handful of documentaries and the 2021 action thriller The Tomorrow War (which he also starred in).

In the summer of 2022, Pratt brought two of his most well-known characters back to the silver screen. First up, he'll reprise his role as Owen Grady in Jurassic World Dominion, and then he will also appear as Peter Quill/Star-Lord in Thor: Love and Thunder. In television, he stars in the new Prime Video drama The Terminal List, too.

To coincide with his upcoming films, Metacritic has created a round-up of Pratt's top 11 acting projects, ranked by Metascore.

Zero Dark Thirty

Metascore: 95
Best for: Fans of military thrillers
Where to watch:

, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 157 minutes

Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the Academy Award-winning film Zero Dark Thirty follows the U.S. military's decade-long search for Osama bin Laden. It features Jessica Chastain as Maya Harris, a CIA analyst who is leading the investigation into the Saudi Arabian terrorist's whereabouts. She's joined by several of her CIA colleagues, including Dan Fuller (Jason Clarke) and Jessica Karley (Jennifer Ehle), who work with detainees and spies to uncover what they know and continue the search. Pratt plays Navy SEAL Justin Lenihan, a member of the team that ultimately helps find (and kill) bin Laden.

"A monumental achievement that documents a coordinated and complicated response to a monumental tragedy." — Steven Rea, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Her

Metascore: 91
Best for: Fans of sci-fi dramas
Where to watch:

, Google Play, iTunes, Netflix, Vudu
Runtime: 126 minutes

Released in 2013, Her tells the story of Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), a quiet-natured Los Angeles man who's left heartbroken after his marriage ends. In the midst of his divorce, he invests in an artificially-intelligent virtual assistant named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson). As time goes on, the pair start to form a relationship — and eventually fall in love. Pratt has a minor role as Paul, one of Twombly's co-workers. Her was written and directed by Spike Jonze and received several major award nominations, including five Academy Awards and three Golden Globes (where it won for Best Screenplay).

"Her is an outstanding movie, in part because of its originality, but also because of its execution." — Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

Moneyball

Metascore: 87
Best for: Fans of sports dramas
Where to watch:

, fuboTV, Google Play, , iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 133 minutes

Based on Michael Lewis' 2003 book, Moneyball revolves around the 2002 Oakland Athletics baseball team — and most notably, the team's ambitious manager Billy Beane (played by Brad Pitt). The film depicts Billy's sabermetric-based approach to baseball strategy, which he uses to assemble his division-winning team and revolutionizes the game. Pratt appears as Scott Hatteberg, a first baseman and catcher signed to the A's by Billy. Moneyball, which premiered in 2011, was nominated for six Academy Awards (including Best Picture and Best Actor) and four Golden Globes (including Best Motion Picture – Drama).

"Starring Brad Pitt in top movie star form, it's a film that's impressive and surprising." — Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

The Lego Movie

Metascore: 83
Best for: Kids and families
Where to watch:

, Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 100 minutes

In The Lego Movie, Pratt voices the animated character Emmet Brickowski, a construction worker living in the town of Bricksburg. One day, Emmet is mistaken for "The Special," a powerful and mysterious being — and the only person that can stop the evil tyrant Lord Business (Will Ferrell), who has plans to dramatically change the Lego universe. The film features a star-studded cast of voice actors, including Will Arnett, Elizabeth Banks, Liam Neeson, Morgan Freeman, and Nick Offerman (Pratt's Parks and Recreation castmate). It earned favorable attention from the awarding bodies, winning the BAFTA Award and Critics Choice Award for Best Animated Film.

"Beautifully shot, impeccably paced, and with a voice cast that nails it in every role, large or small, The Lego Movie is a genuine delight." — Drew McWeeny, Hitfix

Avengers: Endgame

Metascore: 78
Best for: Fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Where to watch:

, , Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 181 minutes

Avengers: Endgame brings together some of Marvel's biggest superheroes, including Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America (Chris Evans), Hulk (Mark Ruffalo), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), and more. The movie is set shortly after Thanos (Josh Brolin) destroyed much of the universe and left several superheroes dead (which audiences saw in 2018's Avengers: Infinity War). For this film, the remaining Avengers band together to pick up the pieces and fight back against the evil warlord. In it, Pratt makes his fourth appearance as Star-Lord, the main character in the Guardians of the Galaxy series.

"The movie largely delivers, splashing its ambitious three-hour narrative across a sprawling canvas of characters, eras, and not-quite-insurmountable challenges." — Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly

Guardians of the Galaxy

Metascore: 76
Best for: Fans of superhero flicks
Where to watch:

, , Google Play, iTunes,
Runtime: 121 minutes

The James Gunn-directed Guardians of the Galaxy tags along with a group of criminals (human, animal, and extraterrestrial) as they go on the run after stealing a highly-coveted orb. They're led by Star-Lord (real name: Peter Quill), a human-alien hybrid played by Pratt. Released in 2014, Guardians of the Galaxy was a hit at the worldwide box office, ending up as the year's third-highest-grossing film. It was also a breakthrough film role for Pratt, who went on to star in 2018's Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (expected in 2023).

"With its introduction of wonderfully memorable characters and blend of humor, action and catchy tunes, Guardians is perfectly pitched escapist fun." — Claudia Puig, USA Today

Mom

Metascore: 69
Best for: Fans of family-centric sitcoms
Where to watch:

, Google Play, , iTunes,
Seasons: 8

Mom follows the lives of mother-daughter duo Bonnie and Christy Plunkett (Allison Janney and Anna Faris, respectively) as they navigate life and motherhood together. Both women are recovering addicts who rely on each other and their fellow Alcoholics Anonymous attendees to stick to their sobriety program. During most of the show's eight-season run, Faris was married to Pratt, who appears in one episode of Mom's fourth season (titled "Good Karma and the Big Weird"), where he plays a potential romantic interest for her character. The CBS sitcom debuted in 2013 and won several awards while it was on air (including two consecutive Primetime Emmys for Janney).

"When the jokes work, they're hilarious." — Robert Rorke, New York Post

Avengers: Infinity War

Metascore: 68
Best for: Comic book readers, Stan Lee fans
Where to watch:

, , Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 149 minutes

Avengers: Infinity War is the follow-up to 2015's Avengers: Age of Ultron and is based on the elite crew of superheroes (including Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk) that Marvel fans know and love. In the movie, they decide to team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy (including Pratt's Star-Lord) to track down Thanos before he collects all six Infinity Stones and uses them for evil. Avengers: Infinity War was the top-grossing film worldwide in 2018 (with the Pratt-led Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom at No. 3) and was nominated for an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, two Critics' Choice Awards, and a SAG Award.

"The film boasts plenty of comic-book action while also making room for a darker tone and emotional resonance rarely matched in previous installments." — Tim Grierson, Screen Daily

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

Metascore: 67
Best for: Fans of comedic action flicks
Where to watch:

, , Google Play, iTunes, Vudu
Runtime: 136 minutes

This 2017 sequel to Guardians of the Galaxy reunites the gang of extraterrestrial outlaws for another high-flying trip through space. Star-Lord is once again joined by Gamora (Zoe Saldana), Drax the Destroyer (Dave Bautista), Rocket (Bradley Cooper), and Groot (Vin Diesel), who team up to help him dig into his family history. Along the way, he learns more about his parents and his childhood and, in turn, discovers new truths about himself. Like its predecessor, this Guardians film was a massive success at the box office, bringing in more than $863 million worldwide.

"Shot for shot, line and line, it's an extravagant and witty follow-up, made with the same friendly virtuosic dazzle." — Owen Gleiberman, Variety

The O.C.

Metascore: 67
Best for: Fans of teen dramas
Where to watch:

, Google Play, , , iTunes,
Seasons: 4

Set in Orange County, The O.C. depicts the ups and downs of growing up in this exclusive part of Southern California. It tells the story of rebellious teen Ryan Atwood (Benjamin McKenzie), who's taken in by a wealthy couple in Newport Beach. After moving in, he befriends the couple's high-achieving but unpopular son, Seth Cohen (Adam Brody), and develops a romantic relationship with their next-door neighbor, Marissa Cooper (Mischa Barton). Pratt appears in several episodes of the fourth (and final) season, playing Che, an environmentally-conscious college student who befriends Cohen's girlfriend Summer Roberts (Rachel Bilson).

"It flickers with longing and resentment, vulnerability and rejection, temptation and moral erosion." — Glenn Garvin, The Miami Herald

Parks and Recreation

Metascore: 67
Best for: Fans of satirical workplace comedies
Where to watch:

, fuboTV, Google Play, iTunes, ,
Seasons: 7

Parks and Recreation, an NBC sitcom by The Officeproducers Greg Daniels and Michael Schur, is a mockumentary-style TV series about a city parks and recreation department in fictional Pawnee, Ind. The show's protagonist is Leslie Knope (Amy Poehler), an upbeat city employee who has huge hopes and dreams for her career, as well as for Pawnee. The cast of characters includes Knope's stern and often-grumpy boss Ron Swanson (Offerman), his intern-turned-assistant April Ludgate (Aubrey Plaza), and nurse Ann Perkins (Rashida Jones). Pratt appears throughout the series as Andy Dwyer, a goofy slacker who's romantically linked to Ann first and later April.

"A TV comedy that's sweet, good-hearted and even inspirational, but also completely hilarious." — Gail Pennington, St. Louis Post-Dispatch