Chris Pratt had the 'spirit' for Guardians

Chris Pratt felt his spirit was right for his Guardians of the Galaxy character.

The American hunk is currently starring in the Marvel Sci-Fi adventure, opposite Zoe Saldana, Karen Gillan and Vin Diesel.

Chris was desperate to be a part of the feature, and set out to get the casting directors to truly believe he was right for the role of Peter Quill.

"I figured if I could just get them to believe me visibly as the character then it would be mine," Chris told Cover Media of his screen test. "I really thought that James [Gunn, director and writer] and I gelled in a really nice way… almost immediately I felt like my spirit was right for this character and the way I sounded was the way he sounded.

"I just didn’t look the part and I wasn’t walking round in the right vehicle yet, so I knew if I convinced them that they had to take a chance on me and give me a good enough time that I might be able to create the change that was required.”

Although the 35-year-old realised many years ago that a toned torso would land him more movie roles, he slimmed down even further for his latest film.

For Guardians of the Galaxy Chris shed 35kg and gained a six pack, to ensure he looked the part.

His dedication paid off, and he landed the role with ease.

"My friend, then, who was essentially reading the role of Drax for all the other screen tests is one of my very best friends…and he was like, ‘Dude you can’t tell anyone but it’s totally yours,'" Chris recalled.