Chris Pratt says he blew through $75,000 after getting his first big Hollywood paycheck
The actor said it took him "about two months" to blow through the money — and much longer to learn the importance of financial literacy.
Nathan Congleton/NBC via Getty Images
- Chris Pratt has spoken about the importance of learning financial literacy.
- The actor said it took him "about two months" to blow through his first big paycheck of $75,000.
- He said it took him much longer to realize the value of saving for his future.
Chris Pratt said he blew threw his first big Hollywood paycheck in "about two months."
Appearing on SiriusXM's "Sway in the Morning," the actor recalled the moment when he felt like he had "made it" in the industry after he was paid $75,000 for a role.
"I was under the impression that I would never run out of money," Pratt said.
"That first paycheck I got, I was like, 'Are you serious?'" he continued, adding that he "had lived on very little money for a long time" and supplemented his acting career by working as a waiter.
"I got paid $75,000, and I was like, 'I'm never gonna wait again. Fuck you bitches. I am leaving,' and then about two months later, I was like, 'Where'd that money go?'" he added.
The "Garfield" star said that he spent some of his money traveling to Hawaii, Australia, and elsewhere in the world.
He also joked that he considered using the money to invest in the stock market and buy a yacht before realizing there wasn't much left.
Pratt said the reason he blew through the money was because nobody had taught him financial literacy, as he "never had any money growing up."
Pratt is now reputed to get paid millions for his roles in blockbusters such as "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" and "Jurassic World Domination."
"I didn't know what to do with money"
The actor, who became a household name playing Andy in the NBC sitcom "Parks and Recreation," was raised first in Minnesota and then Washington; his mom worked in a grocery store while his dad worked in construction.
Pratt previously revealed that he lived out of a van in Maui when he was in his early 20s before he pursued acting. For a time, he did everything from cleaning people's cars to stripping.
Pratt said it took some time for him to realize the value of saving for your future or just for a rainy day.
"I didn't know what to do with money. It was like, it would come in, I would spend it," Pratt said. "It took a good amount of time for me to kind of stop and say, 'All right, I gotta get wise about this.' I have to think about, 'What am I gonna do? How am I gonna get to the point where if I stop working one day, I'll still be OK? My family will be OK.'"
"So, kind of coming up with a financial literacy plan, you know, later in my life was sort of one of the steps of me growing up," he added.
Pratt's comments come after fellow actor Chris Pine also opened up about the impact of landing his first big paycheck.
Appearing on "Sunday Today with Willie Geist," Pine recalled a call from his agents telling him he'd got a role in "The Princess Diaries 2."
"I pulled over onto the side of the freeway and they said, 'You're getting paid $65,000,' and it was like they had just told me that I'd made $50 million," he said.
"I just remembered distinctly knowing in that moment that my life had changed somehow," he added. "That lasted no time at all, and I owed my parents rent money. But that is a wild feeling. I'll never forget that."