Chris Pratt's character on Parks and Recreation, the pea-brained Andy, wasn't supposed to stick around long. But Pratt played him with such wide-eyed, open-hearted glee that he became a regular. He sneaks up on you again in the big-screen comedy The Five-Year Engagement, as Jason Segel's spazzy sidekick, Alex, who essentially steals the movie. You might not recognize the former Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. waiter in his next, shockingly buff incarnation, as a soldier in Kathryn Bigelow's untitled film about the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Chris Pratt, action hero? That's no joke.

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GQ: This is a transition moment for you, from Parks and Recreation and Five-Year Engagement to Moneyball. Now you're heading into the new Kathryn Bigelow movie. How does it feel?

Chris Pratt: It feels great. I'm not sure it feels a whole lot different than maybe the last ten years have felt, you know? Because I feel like the effort and the work is sort of the same. I'm just kind of plugging away, and just more things are lighting up. To go to the Oscars for Moneyball—that was pretty amazing. And to be able to go work with Kathryn Bigelow—that's going to be pretty sweet. Hopefully I don't have to go back to being a waiter. That's still my main goal.

GQ: Me too. I waited tables forever.

**Chris Pratt: **Did you ever have those, like, waiting-tables dreams?

GQ: I still do. And they're horrible.

Chris Pratt: They're like the worst nightmare you can have. You're totally in the weeds. You have like six tables. You forgot to put the order in. You're sweating, and you wake up and "Oh, my God. I'm so glad."

GQ: Did any of that come back to you while you were working in a restaurant on the set of Five-Year Engagement in the kitchen and falling for Alison Brie?

Chris Pratt: No. I had no experience in the back of the kitchen, so there wasn't any of that stress coming back. But it was fun. And I think it's going to be a really great thing for Alison because her character is just fucking bonkers, man.

GQ: Do you see any similarities between Alex in Five-Year Engagement and Andy on Parks & Recreation? I did.

Chris Pratt: Well, yeah. I see the similarities. I don't know what it is, but typically when someone's obnoxious, they're not really likable. And Alex and Andy are obnoxious. With Andy on Parks and Recreation and even Bright on Everwood is this: That guy who was probably a douche in high school, who may have peaked in high school, what happens to that guy? All three of these characters are guys who probably have their best days behind them. But, with that comes a sense of sort of a learned humility. What makes the characters endearing may be that they're forced to realize that they're not as badass as they used to be. And then if you play the character who's learned that lesson, it's really hard to dislike that person. Hopefully people like them.