This feature first appeared in the September 2016 issue of InStyle. To see more exclusive photos of Chris Pratt and read his full interview, pick up the magazine, now available on newsstands and for digital download.
Outside the historic Irving Thalberg Building on the Sony Pictures Studios lot in Culver City, Calif., a Technicolor rainbow—94 feet tall and wrought from solid steel—arcs into the sky. In a nondescript corner office in that same building, the gold at the end of that rainbow, Chris Pratt, takes a seat, the chair he chooses instantly dwarfed by his rugged 6'2" frame. In a sky blue Levi's button-down, faded Wrangler jeans, and scuffed tan Ariat boots, the actor looks every inch the cowboy, which is fitting, since he plays the leading role of wisecracking gunslinger Josh Farraday in The Magnificent Seven. Is this art imitating life? Pratt waves off the notion. "These are I'm-not-really-a-cowboy cowboy boots," he says, laughing gamely. "I play one in a movie." But that's not all he can do. With an eagerly anticipated Guardians of the Galaxy sequel on the horizon, as well as Passengers, an interstellar romance with Jennifer Lawrence, Pratt continues to prove he's equally at home in space as he is on the range. Add to that his just-announced star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame? It's official. Chris Pratt is no mere movie star. He's a celestial happening.
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Scroll down for more handsome photos of the charming Pratt, and get a sneak peek at his feature where he talks everything from vintage shopping to his wife Anna Faris.
You grew up in Washington State in the '90s. Was Kurt Cobain a fashion inspiration for you?
In high school my parents and I had a deal. They would pay for either my car insurance or my clothes. So I let them cover the insurance and I got my own clothes. I'd shop at the thrift store. There were a lot of loggers and mill workers up in that area, so the stuff that was donated was generally flannels, old boots, and jeans that were all effed up. But I didn't go the grunge route. I went more for silk Hawaiian T-shirts and bell-bottom jeans.
Staying in the '90s for a second, one of your wife Anna Faris's favorite movies is Reality Bites. Was it weird working with Ethan Hawke [on The Magnificent Seven], presumably her high school crush?
Anna is nuts about that movie. It really spoke to her. But she's always like, "I would totally go for Ben Stiller's character, not Ethan's [i.e., Troy]." Troy. Eff that guy!
Is she as opinionated about fashion as she is fictitious suitors?
She's effortlessly stylish. But when we met, I think she appreciated that I was a guy who wore, like, cargo shorts and a T-shirt from Cabela's. That was my staple wardrobe for a really long time. Now I'm a little more cognizant of my choices. I don't just passively have stylists put whatever they want on me. I pay attention.
If you could choose one piece of your costume to wear in everyday life, what would it be?
Probably my pants. I tried them on and went, "What are these?" And the costumer said, "They're Ralph Lauren." This wasn't like the Daniel Day-Lewis version of a movie where we all had to s—in outhouses or something. We had trailers. The gun I used was authentic to the time, but the pants were Ralph Lauren. And I took them.
What's your most essential item of clothing?
My Ariat boots. They've got a good square toe. And they're soft here [around the ankle].
In addition to being into style, you're also reportedly proficient with hair. How did you learn to French-braid?
My sister taught me how to braid when we were younger. Then, I would braid Anna's hair at night ... it was a nice little ritual. But her hair started breaking off at the top of the braid because she was sleeping on it. So Anna's mom thought a French braid might distribute the pressure. She taught me when we were in Hawaii shooting Jurassic World.
