Last September, when director James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy was filming outside London, I got to visit the set along with a few other reporters. While everything I saw and learned on set is still embargoed for now, Marvel is letting us post our group interview with Chris Pratt. During the interview he talked about landing the role of Peter Quill, his reaction the first time he held his blaster, working with the rest of the cast, what it’s like having two CGI characters in the film, his physical transformation for the role, the importance of humor in the film, how much the script changed during production, and so much more. It’s a great interview that you can either read or listen to after the jump.

And one last thing before getting to the interview…while I’m not allowed to say what I saw and learned on set, I don’t think I’ll get in trouble telling you that everything I saw on Guardians of the Galaxy looked fantastic. I really believe Marvel is about to launch an incredible new franchise that will spawn many sequels. I honestly can’t wait until this August.

Click here if you’d like to listen to the audio of this interview. Otherwise the full transcript is below.

Question: Stepping into a world like this, is part of the kick learning to play with everything and learning to live in that space?

CHRIS PRATT: Yeah I guess that’s part of it, it’s definitely part of it. I think you’re talking about the props and toys and sets and costumes. All that stuff makes my job easy, it’s not easy, but it makes it much easier because it’s doing a lot of the work the props, the costume, mask and guns, everything that distracts the viewers attention from me I invite, just in case I fuck it up please just look at the cool guns.

Backing off of that question, when we visited the guys in props, they said they sent you the blasters ahead of time, what was it like the first time you got your blaster?

PRATT: They sent me the gun and I think they wanted to see how it matched up against my hand but at the time, all I was worried about was “I’m going to send them pictures of me holding this gun and they’re going to think I’m too fat and fire me.” That’s all I remember thinking, I was still very much in the process of losing weight so I was like sucking it in holding the gun, my wife was like, “You look uncomfortable in this photo.” I said, “I am! God.” So I sent in the photo and immediately after they were like, “By the way we need to come get your sizes again.” I was like, “I know.” But it was pretty neat, they’re definitely awesome props. It’s funny because we have a great prop department here and they’re purists so some of them are a little reticent to accept the 3D printer into their world because they make practical props and build stuff out of nothing, out of parts that they tinker with and stuff, so I think the idea of a 3D printer is a little bit scary it’s like the printing press, it’s new and exciting that they use it because it looks amazing.

How are you balancing the TV show with this?

PRATT: Well, that was all something that NBC and Marvel worked out beforehand, as they were finalizing the details of my deal they said “We’ll let him out for some episodes but he does have to come back,” NBC was awesome to let me out and I’m missing probably six episodes, but they came out here to London and we did a couple of episodes out here in London and also I went back for a 10-day stretch in August and did another episode so I’m going back and forth a little bit making it work, and when I wrap on this I’ll immediately go back to the show.

I imagine it’s difficult balancing being a badass and being super funny…

PRATT: By badass you mean Andy Dwyer, right? [laughs] They’re both super badass so it’s really easy…

Were there any characters you were inspired by or looked back on?

PRATT: With Peter? I guess so, you think going into something that as an actor you can take perfo you’ve seen before and want to take influence off of it but I don’t know that that’s, that’s not necessarily what I did. I know some actors probably work that way, but I’ve heard Kevin [Feige] say he thought the stuff he’s looking at he thought it’s like Han Solo-meets-Marty McFly, which I think is cool, but that wasn’t an intentional thing at all, I think to seek the truth is, I think at least with me is, I know that me personally I’m different than anyone else, just like our mothers all tell us we’re all very special and unique and we are, and I think if an actor can stick to trying to make the character resemble something from their own spirit it will automatically be unique. It’s not necessarily going to be trying to be Han Solo or trying to be Marty McFly or trying to be any other character you’ve seen before, it’s like, “This is me in this role.”

Has there been a more surreal day on set over any others?

PRATT: Yes. We have a set for a place called Morag. It’s mind-blowing. And there’s another day in something called…Oh, I don’t want to give this away. Am I giving stuff away? There’s something called the Kiln, which is another set, and there’s one surreal day when we had a second called Michael. He’s a guy who’s worked with Stanley Kubrick, I mean he’s been around for ages. You can sit and listen to this guy talk about working on movies. He’s worked in the business for like 50 years. And he was doing crowd control on a hundred and sixty extras—all of whom had gone through extensive alien makeup. And we’re on a set that’s maybe as big as this warehouse that we’re in right now, but maybe even taller. And there Are prison cells all the way around, a giant tower in the middle, and there’s this long—I’m getting goosebumps (laughter)—there’s this long crane.

That was in the sizzle reel we saw this morning, what James was talking about, that one long shot.

PRATT: Yes. That long one shot that was put together. And I’m watching Michael, who’s worked with Stanley Kubrick, directing these extras, saying, “Remember, if you can see the camera, the camera can see you! You are in a prison!” (Laughter) “You are not happy!” (Laughter) And then we’re walking through, and there’s this long, dollying crane shot that’s on our backs and then lifts up and then circles around, you see a fight break out and then it pans down to a second level and you see these ominous prisoners grab someone and drag them into a cell. And then it goes down even further and you’re seeing details that I don’t want to give, but you’ll know this shot. It was so surreal because the shot ends on my face looking around taking it all in. And then it quickly cuts out and that moment…it’s been five months of moments like that. It’s really, really crazy. I’m like, how much does this cost per second, I wonder? (Laughter)

This is a guy who’s half-human, half-alien. We know the movie starts on Earth, but is set mostly in space. I’m kind of curious, is the character more informed by who he was on Earth or is he more informed by who he has become in space?

PRATT: No, at this point he’s definitely more informed by who he was on Earth. The arc of the character, it’s a very human arc. It’s really based on who he was and what was taken from him as a kid and something that he missed and lacks that he has to gain through the course of the movie. That’s definitely what we’re focusing on.

How old is he when he leaves earth?

PRATT: When he leaves Earth he’s nine or ten, he’s a kid. Is that a spoiler? No, no he’s a thirty year-old. He’s got pituitary issues. (Laughter) A thirty year-old, four-foot three kid. But yeah, he’s about nine years old and you get to see the origin of who he is and why he is the way he is when you meet him as an adult later in space.

To kind of go off of that, in the sizzle reel from Comic-Con that we saw today, you say, “I’m Star Lord,” and Korath says, “Who?” Obviously that’s going to be a lot of the general public reaction to Star-Lord. Is that something that something that benefitted you as far as being able to make this character your own and how you developed him?

PRATT: That was actually—that idea was a collaboration, I think. Because I don’t think in the original incarnation, or the original script that it was like that. I remember reading it and my thought was, “Why is he just saying I am Star Lord?” And then I talked to James and I was like, “Maybe there should be this moment where it’s like, “Who? Who is that?” And I feel like that was something we collaborated on. But what’s great is the stakes of what happens in the movie legitimizes this nickname he’d love to have himself be called.

Is the fact that the general public that’s going to be watching this movie and are going to be introduced to these characters, really for the first time… characters like Iron Man and Captain America, those are names people knew going in. Is that a benefit to you as an actor making the character your own?

PRATT: I don’t necessarily know if it affects me one way or another. I think it makes sense that… it’s a good question. I think it probably is helpful that people don’t know who he is because it would be my intention to make him my own anyways. But I think that’s something that Robert Downey Jr. did with Iron Man. He came in and he is Tony Stark – and he kind of is now because he can probably afford like weapon systems (laughs). The guy could probably build his own suit now with all the money he’s making. I don’t know Robert Downey Jr., but I’m just assuming! I don’t even know him, so maybe that’s not how he is at all. Maybe he has a British accent and is a totally different person than Tony Stark. But to me it seems like, “Robert Downey Jr. is Tony Stark.” He was a guy people knew, people obviously knew Iron Man—maybe not as much as Captain America or other characters, but that is something that I would like to try to do, just keep it real and keep it close to who I am, and maybe the fact that nobody knows these characters, that’ll be helpful.

And it probably will be helpful, because you think of it like those Star Wars movies that came out, the prequels that came out. There are a lot of expectations there, and to shoulder a project with preconceived notions, expectations and all these things, it really makes it difficult. It makes it difficult if you spend the whole movie trying to satisfy what people think they know about a character. The first Star Wars didn’t have that problem because it’s all brand new. You just take it for what it is. So what I’m saying is that we will be better than Star Wars. (laughs)

Do you have a character other than yourself who you’re a big fan of?

PRATT: In this story?

Yeah.

PRATT: Oh man. I think Drax is awesome, not only the character but Dave Bautista the actor. I just really adore him so much and think he’s very, very good. Unique. I really love him. And I think Rocket is a great character, not just in a way that you would think. There’s a lot of heart there. James [Gunn] did a lot of looking at Rocket as a real character rather than a cartoon character. And so when you see the story unfold… you should kind of feel bad for anything that was kind of created out of nothing. There’s a sense of loneliness and this inner pain that Rocket feels that hopefully the audience will empathize with that makes him a really sympathetic character, but also so badass. ‘Cause he’s a raccoon with a machine gun! So that’s good. I like him. I mean, all the characters are really great, but those two probably in particular right now.

So much of the film is about building an ensemble that works together by the end. In terms of the ensemble of the cast, it’s such an amazing group of people and such an eclectic group to put together, have you seen that happen over the course of the film? That you guys have come together and figured it all out as you’ve been working?

PRATT: Yeah, I think, probably. The synergy of the whole group we don’t get to really feel on set because two of the characters are CG, and I’m hoping that when it’s all said and done and you can—what’s kind of great is that when I see this movie, for so much of it I’m going to be a spectator. Seeing sequences I didn’t know what they looked like, characters that I don’t really know how they’re going to look… you know what I mean? But we’ve definitely come together and gotten to know each other better, but this has been unlike any other movies I’ve been on, where you walk away from set and just the cast goes and hangs out and stuff like that. We’re just working non-stop (laughs). We have been working so much. We’ve gotten to know each other pretty well because we’ve been together for five months in a foreign country. But it’s been eye on the prize this whole time. There hasn’t been a lot of down time to do anything. At least for me—I feel like I’ve been working every second.

How have you been adjusting to the fact that you’re dealing with two CGI characters throughout the entire film?

PRATT: It turns out it’s kind of the same as just it being not CGI. You’re still kind of just standing there, looking at something and pretending and saying the words, you know. It hasn’t been that hard. I think it would be a lot harder if we didn’t have Sean Gunn playing Rocket. I mean, Groot doesn’t have that much dialogue in the movie—I don’t know if that’s supposed to be a spoiler or not—but everyone knows that he says, “I am Groot” and that’s it? (laughs) So much of what actors do is just listening and responding, so when you’re working with a great actor, even when they’re off-camera, it’s very easy just to listen to what they’re saying, respond, understand that they’re listening to you. There’s this connection, there’s this flow that happens just when you’re talking to people, and that’s been really great with Sean because, like I said, a lot of the stuff that happens with Rocket, there are moments of real drama and real emotion, and he has committed so hard to it. So when he’s off-camera, I’m responding to someone I feel really bad for rather than, like, a tennis ball or something.

Can you talk about the physical transformation you went through. Did it change the way you are physically as an actor and did you know when you were where you wanted to be?

PRATT: Yeah, there are a lot of elements that really, like I said, made it easy for me. The costume and the hair and the make-up and the props and the sets, and then working out and getting in good shape, I would just get out of hair and make-up and have my costume on and look at myself in the mirror and I would just not even see myself staring back. I would see Peter Quill or this kind of Star-Lord character, I was like, “this is fucking cool, man.” (laughter) So yeah, a third of what I do as an actor is just what I look like, you know? I’m a prop and I talk and I listen and I feel things and I have a certain rhythm to my spirit, all of which I can manipulate, but the way I look is also something you can manipulate. But it probably takes a third of the performance. That’s why there are people that are just completely dull and have nothing going on inside, but when you look at ‘em, they look compelling. There’s great symmetry or something, and you’re kind of captivated by them, even though on the inside there’s nothing going on! (laughter) Know what I mean? There are people like that, and as long as they sound good, and can link sentences together without stumbling—

Would you like to describe which people we’re talking about here?

PRATT: Almost all of ‘em (laughter). Almost all of ‘em. No. Truly there are actors that there’s not anything, there’s nothing going on (laughs). I’ve met some of ‘em, I’m like, “Wow, there’s fucking nothing going on there!” (more laughter) But I certainly wouldn’t say. But yeah, the physical transformation is a big part of it, it’s my vehicle. It’s my body that I’m inside of, and it can’t not affect the way that people perceive you and the way that you perceive yourself.

In going through the art room and getting sort of a rough idea of this hero’s journey—and by the way the art’s freakin’ awesome—

PRATT: Oh, amazing. So cool. I know, man.

But when the audience and us first meet the Peter Quill character when he’s older and in space, what are his goals? What is he up to before he meets the Guardians?

PRATT: Well, he is on a quest to escape, essentially. But in the same way that a lot of people are on Earth. He’s got a hope to him. The kind of hope that you have when you buy a lottery ticket. You know, he thinks if he could just make that score, everything will be fine and everything will be taken care of. I think he learns through the course of the movie that that’s not ultimately where you find true satisfaction with yourself or real happiness. It’s really gonna come from doing something bigger than yourself and giving yourself up to something that’s bigger than yourself. So we find him in a hopeful, playful place where — and he’s sort of escaping and a little bit on the run.

Both you and James are very funny guys. How important is comedy to telling the story of the Guardians of the Galaxy?

PRATT: Oh, super important. I think comedy is very, very important, especially in this film. I mean, if we pull this off right, it’s going to be hard for other movies to come out that are like this. They’re going to seem pretty unfunny compared to our movie, I think. James is really, really funny. It’s really rare that someone makes me consistently laugh out loud, and he really does. We have similar senses of humor, and a great relationship and banter on set that probably could be seen as inappropriate, but it’s really keeping us both sane. This is ultimately his movie and his voice, and you’ll definitely see that humor through the course of this movie. And I think it is important and key to making this movie work, because it’s not just a straight action-adventure type of movie. I think all the best big adventure movies have comedy, like all the Indiana Jones movies and like a Romancing the Stone, any type of movie where you have an adventure, potential budding sexual chemistry and humor all together, it really works.

Do you get to improv, do you get to riff on a movie this big?

PRATT: No, not really. This is not the place for that, I don’t think. I do, though. I do sometimes. It is probably not something I should be doing. But I sometimes can’t help it. I know a little bit of that stuff might make it in. And there’s a difference between improving and saying the words without using those words. As long as you’re saying the same thing, you can kind of put it in your own words if that makes it more natural. I’ve been trying pretty hard to just stick to the lines, because you don’t want to blow a $300,000 dolly helicopter shot or something because you wanted to poke a little fun and they’re like, “What are you doing? Noooooo! It’s going to take us like five hours to reset this shot.” There’s room for that in some of the scenes, but for the most part not a lot.

How many of the comics did you read to prepare and what was something you saw in the Guardians comics where you say, ‘OK, I need to have this in the movie.’

PRATT: Well, when I first talked with James here I had some read of the newest, the Bendis stuff, the very newest stuff. I talked to James and I was like, “What do you think?” And he was like, “Don’t read any more. I don’t want you to read any.” He was like, Abnett & Lanning if I want, if I felt I had to read something, we’d be closest to that. But he was like, “Don’t, because we’re not recreating the comic books.” We’re essentially just another delivery system for Marvel material. We’re not necessarily making a movie based on those comic books. We’re just telling more superhero, Guardians of the Galaxy stories, just using a different medium. It would be like if someone else was going to release another Guardians of the Galaxy comic book, you wouldn’t necessarily need to go through and read all the previous comic books and pick and choose what you want to use. You want to do your own thing. So I think that’s kind of what we’re doing. The name and the title and the characters are from different incarnations of Guardians of the Galaxy, but this is its own thing. James told me to kind of steer clear of that. He probably just wanted me to treat his script like the Holy Bible. And so I sort of have.

From when you first got the script to what you’re filming now, how much changed along the way?

PRATT: Not very much. Not very much outside of 10, 15 percent. It was pretty solid going in. We rehearsed, had conversations and brought up any concerns we had and so there were changes that were made. That’s just the whittling down process. It always happens. It’s always an inevitable evolution. But for the most part, it was pretty damn good to begin with. It was pretty good. It wasn’t one of those situations where you come in and think. “Wow, this doesn’t work. How are we going to be that figured out?” You’re like, “Wow, that stuff all really works, but what about this?” Maybe like trying to just sharpen it with very fine touches. But it was pretty sharp to begin with.

Guardians of the Galaxy opens August 1, 2014. Look for more from my set visit soon. Click here for all our previous Guardians coverage and here’s 6 new high-resolution images from the set.