During press for Guardians of the Galaxy last month, Chris Pratt said that he’d stolen his Star-Lord costume so that he could visit sick kids in the hospital dressed as his superhero character. And guess what? HE DID. Pratt visited the Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles on Wednesday, screening Guardians for the kids, and he showed up dressed as Star-Lord.
While the movie played, Pratt visited the kids in the oncology ward too sick to make it the screening (he also visited the “LEGO kid”), and when the screening was over he handed out toys to the kids and took pictures and gave hugs and was generally everything you want movie stars to be. And he did it all in costume, which he let the kids try on.
The “I’m not crying, it’s just really dusty in here” capper to what is already a nice story: One kid felt too down to make it all the way to the end, missing Pratt’s arrival. He was asked if he wanted to go back and meet Pratt, and he did, so back he went with his nurses. Upon seeing him, Pratt got down and gave the kid a big hug, and got a bigass smile in return—the kid’s first smile all day.
Marvel is looking for the face of their pending post-RDJ era—look no further. This is a guy who gets it, who understands what making these types of movies is really about: making people, especially kids, happy. This is what you’re looking for, Marvel. This is a Movie Star. This is a Grade-F*cking-A good guy.
Photo courtesy Children’s Hospital Los Angeles
