Chris Pratt: ‘I Was Too Fat For Moneyball’ [VIDEO EXCLUSIVE]

Fans of the NBC hit show Parks and Recreation have been familiar with the comedic talents of Chris Pratt, who plays Andy on the show, for some time, but now they get to see him in a slightly different role playing opposite Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Robin Wright, and an all-star cast in the new acclaimed film Moneyball.

Pratt plays real-life baseball player Scott Hatteberg in the film, a promising athlete handpicked by Pitt’s character, Oakland GM Billy Beane, in his attempt to assemble a competitive team. Being the quintessential athlete, however, was not always Pratt’s strong suit.

“The audition went well, except for they told me I was just too fat,” Pratt told Uinterview in an exclusive interview. It was “a bit of a shot to the ego. But I took the next few months to just really start slimming down. I kinda did it on spec — they didn’t promise me anything, but I thought that if that was the one thing that was holding me back, that hopefully they wouldn’t cast anybody else. And I just hit the gym really hard and dieted and did a bunch of working out and lost a bunch of weight, and luckily they hadn’t cast anybody.”

As for working with superstar Pitt? “I won’t say we’re best friends,” Pratt admitted jokingly, “but we are coworkers … so, pretty close.”

You can catch Pratt in Moneyball, currently out in theaters, or in Parks and Recreation Thursday nights at 8:30 p.m.

Watch Uinterview’s exclusive with Pratt here.