He Wasn’t Even Supposed to Work That Day

Fact check

The facts and where they come from

1. He lived in a van on a beach, and wasn’t even supposed to work that day. Vanity Fair: “There was a van with a couch, a tent with a blanket.” Pratt: “I wasn’t even supposed to take a shift that day. I was always giving away my shifts because I didn’t have much overhead. I lived in a van.” 1
2. His name is Chris Pratt. Vanity Fair’s 2017 cover story: “Chris Pratt’s Call to Stardom.” 1
3. At 19, he had no job. Pratt (Vanity Fair): “I had no prospects, no job, was still sort of riding the glory of high school”; he was “back in Lake Stevens, exactly where he’d started.” ABC News: “Pratt moved to Maui at age 19.” 13
4. A friend bought him a ticket to Hawaii. Pratt (Vanity Fair): “He saw that and bought me a ticket to Hawaii, where he’d been living.” 1
5. On Maui, he slept in a van or a tent on the beach. Vanity Fair: “There was a van with a couch, a tent with a blanket.” ABC News: “about his days sleeping in the van or in a tent on the beach.” 13
6. He waited tables at Bubba Gump Shrimp, and always gave his shifts away. Vanity Fair: “Pratt got a job at Bubba Gump Shrimp”; “I was always giving away my shifts.” TODAY: “When he was 19, Pratt began working at a Bubba Gump Shrimp restaurant in Hawaii while living out of his van.” 12
7. Then one day, he took one anyway. Pratt (Vanity Fair): “I wasn’t even supposed to take a shift that day.” 1
8. The actress Rae Dawn Chong walked in. Vanity Fair: “Rae Dawn Chong, an actress … walked into Bubba Gump Shrimp.” 1
9. “You’re a movie star,” he told her. Vanity Fair: “He says, ‘I’m your server.’ She says, ‘I’m Rae Dawn Chong.’ He says, ‘You’re a movie star.’” 1
10. “You’re cute,” she said. “Do you act?” Vanity Fair: “She says, ‘You’re cute. Do you act?’” 1
11. He had no phone, so he gave her a friend’s number. Vanity Fair: “He does not have a phone—he lives in a van—so gives her the number of his friend.” 1
12. She cast him as the lead, but he couldn’t afford the flight. Vanity Fair: “‘Yeah,’ he said, ‘I was the lead’”; “When Pratt learned the movie would be shot in L.A., he told Chong he’d have to bow out. He couldn’t afford a plane ticket.” Fox News: “Chong cast Pratt in the lead role as Jeff in her directorial debut, the 2000 horror-comedy short film ‘Cursed Part 3.’” 15
13. He had 60 bucks, he said, and she told him, “Sweetie, we’ll fly you there.” Vanity Fair: “I had 60 bucks,” he told me. “And she was like, ‘Sweetie, we’ll fly you there.’” 1
14. He called it the worst movie he’d ever seen, but it got him to Hollywood. Pratt (Vanity Fair): “It was the worst movie I’d ever seen”; “The whole reason that movie came along was just so I could be brought to Hollywood.” 1
15. Years later, a star himself, he wrote, “Please tip your server.” His Instagram post (TODAY, February 6, 2019): “Twenty years ago I was a waiter at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company,” he wrote; “Please tip your server”; “Leave at least 20%. Also leave some shrimp.” 2

Sources

1. Cover Story: Chris Pratt’s Call to Stardom (Rich Cohen, February 2017 issue) Vanity Fair
2. Chris Pratt gets nostalgic about his time as a waiter for Bubba Gump Shrimp (Joe Fay, February 6, 2019) TODAY
3. Chris Pratt Shares Pic of Van He ‘Lived In’ Before Stardom (Luchina Fisher, August 18, 2014) ABC News
4. Chris Pratt shares photo of Scooby-Doo van he lived in while homeless (Jessica Derschowitz, August 18, 2014) CBS News
5. Chris Pratt shares the unexpected name he almost used to launch his Hollywood career (Ashley Hume, January 23, 2026) Fox News

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