Chris Pratt had big shoes to fill in after he took on the role of Garfield’s voice actor for The Garfield Movie. The actor had to live up to the expectations Bill Murray set when he voiced the iconic fictional cat first.
The actor best known for his role as Starlord in the MCU opened up about how he approached the role. Pratt revealed how he breathed in his “own spirit” into the role. Here’s what Chris Pratt said about voicing Garfield in the movie.
Chris Pratt opens up about voicing Garfield
Chris Pratt was chosen to voice Garfield in The Garfield Movie. The actor opened up about how he was reassured by the director of the movie. Chris revealed how Mark Dindal told him that he was perfect for the role.
The Jurassic World actor shared that Mark’s trust in him made playing the part “look easy” for him. Pratt then explained that while approaching this role his main focus was to let his spirit shine through.
“That’s easy — I’m not coming in and trying to do anything other than just be myself and breathe my own spirit into the role,” the actor added.
Chris spoke about how Dindal’s vision for Garfield’s voice actor aligned with him. “The voice that he’s always heard coming out of this animation he’s been working on for years before I even met him, was my voice,” Pratt shared. The actor recalled how Mark explained to him that he wanted Garfield to sound just like the actor.
Chris recalled the director praising the quality of his voice which has a “natural sarcastic sort of laziness.” Mark Dindal was convinced that these traits of Chris’ voice worked perfectly for the character of Garfield.
Chris Pratt talks about replacing Bill Murray
Bill Murray previously voiced Garfield starting with 2004’s Garfield: The Movie. Murray was the first actor to do so on the big screen. Pratt was asked if he was nervous about replacing the legend in the role.
“Well, of course, he’s the GOAT. He’s on my comedy Mount Rushmore,” Chris replied. Murray voiced Garfield on screen twice, first in the 2004 movie and then in the 2006 Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties.
The other actors who have lent their voices to characters in The Garfield Movie include Hannah Waddingham, Ving Rhames, Nicholas Hoult, Cecily Strong, Harvey Guillén, Brett Goldstein, Samuel L. Jackson, and Bowen Yang. The Garfield Movie is in theatres now.
