STACK #186 Apr 2020

CINEMA FEATURE

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When STACK catches up with Chris Pratt andTom Holland in Los Angeles, they easily slip into a goofy, brotherly banter – an effortless extension of the brothers they voice in Pixar’s animated magical movie, Onward . Words Gill Pringle

P ortraying teenage elves Ian and Barley Lightfoot, the actors were better able to forge a real sense of fraternity thanks to their shared ties inhabiting beloved Marvel superheroes – Pratt as Star Lord in the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and Holland as Spider-Man . “I can’t help but try to be like a big brother to Tom,” admits Pratt, 17 years Holland’s senior. “I’m the oldest brother of four and Chris is the youngest brother of two, so we kind of switched roles in this,” says Holland, 23, who plays younger elf Ian. “Chris and I were already so close before we came onto this film that it was almost like we were just playing ourselves. “The similarities between Ian and myself go back to when I was 12 or 13. I was a bit of an introvert; a very nervous kid and had a hard time at school. It wasn’t until I went on this adventure – which was Billy Elliot – that I came out of my shell and grew more

the assemblies at high school and I followed in his footsteps by doing the same. But he went into the army and didn’t become an actor while I did ,” he recalls, explaining how his big brother loved him so much

confident and started to believe in myself. So what drew me to this character is that we get to see that entire journey that I went on as a kid. I was so happy to pour my past experiences into this process,” he says. For Pratt, it was only

that he never once resented the fact that Pratt, in a sense, stole his dream. “That is one of the themes

after attending the film’s premiere that he realised the similarities in the elf brothers’ relationship to his own relationship with his older brother.

Chris and I were already so close before we came onto this film

of Onward . That the big brother Barley is just so

proud that his little brother Ian has ‘the gift’. When I saw the movie, it really made me appreciate how my big brother was with me because he’s always only ever been super encouraging and positive about what I was doing as an actor. “That’s what makes this brotherly relationship so special and why grown men come up to me today and say how moved they were. Onward really celebrates a

“Obviously I’m playing the older brother in this but, in my own life, I relate much more to being the younger brother,” he says. “My older brother

always wanted to be an actor and would do plays – the first time I ever saw my mother cry was watching him on stage in first grade. I thought it was amazing and immediately wanted to be an actor, too. My brother did all

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14 APRIL 2020