Happy Birthday! Chris Pratt Turns 37 Years Old Today

Congrats to Chris Pratt! Not just for turning 37 years old today but for kicking butt and taking names in Hollywood. In the last couple of years the Parks and Recreation star has went from sitcom popularity to box office action star.

Back in 2008 Pratt had a small part in the 2008 film Wanted as James McAvoy's annoying office friend who somewhat famously ended up getting hit in the face with a keyboard. From there he starred in a handful of comedy roles but his role in the CIA film, Zero Dark Thirty as a Seal Team 6 member - that was the real start of his move from comedy to blockbuster action stardom.

Next up he got the role of his life: Starlord. Who, you might ask - that's Peter Quill, one of the Guardians of the Galaxy. To do this, though he'd have to get in the best shape of his life... all the while filming NBC's Parks and Recreation where he played a slightly overweight assistant to Leslie Knope, Andy Dwyer.

Ben: "So the only thing you did was stop drinking beer?"

Andy: "Yeah. I lost fifty pounds in one month."

Ben: "How much beer were you drinking?"

Andy; "I know, right? Probably too much."

He did a lot more than just stop drinking beer in real life but thanks in part to that lifestyle change he's now the number one action star in Hollywood - even when he's not taking the starring role of the new Jurassic Park or the Guardians of the Galaxy franchises. Pratt is continually mentioned as the perfect guy for [insert action remake here]. Everything from the next Indiana Jones to a young Hans Solo.

He is just finishing Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 with James Gunn and Zoe Saldana (who's birthday is this month too) and his next film The Magnificent Seven is set to be released later this year.