‘Chubby’ Chris Pratt and the quest for the perfect male body

It's probably not the best time of year for any of us to show off our physique. A fortnight or so of festive high indulgence and couch-dwelling have left many of us a little doughier than we'd really like to be.

So, when we learned that Hollywood heartthrob and former 'Sexiest Man Alive' Chris Pratt was once told he was "too fat" to star in the film Moneyball, it's certainly not going to help with our collective body image issues.

The question is why, for so many of us, a huge proportion of our time, money and headspace is taken up by the quest for physical perfection? The answer, much like Chris Pratt's abs, is often staring us in the face.

Pratt had been on TV and movie screens for years before landing his first major lead role in Guardians of the Galaxy. But, according to the man himself, his lack of a six-pack almost cost him that career-defining part.

The story goes that when he arrived for the casting session the director, Jim Gunn, was reportedly overheard saying: "Who do we have next? Chris Pratt? What the f**k? I said we weren't going to audition the chubby guy from Parks and Rec." Despite the impressive career he'd had up to that point, Pratt had already been discounted because he was apparently too fat for the role of Star Lord.

If you actually look at Pratt's character in Parks and Recreation, Andy Dwyer, he's anything but 'chubby'. He's a perfectly normal-looking guy. In reality, what this means is that whilst playing the part of an average man, Pratt wasn't walking around with a dangerously low body-fat percentage and wasn't hiring personal trainers to make him look like Michelangelo's David. In short, he simply wasn't good enough.

Now I'm fully aware that Guardians of the Galaxy is about superheroes, and that superheroes are, by definition, meant to be superior beings. For the leading role, they were looking for something specific, but these are fictional characters. We can't expect actors to maintain impossible standards of body perfection at all time. I'm not saying that actors shouldn't attempt to look a certain way for specific roles, but directors need to take more responsibility for the mental and physical wellbeing of those they hire.

Bobby Holland Hanton, who is Chris Hemsworth's body double in Thor, has previously described how difficult his diet was to maintain while training for the role. Muscle & Fitness Magazine pointed out that 'Chris Hemsworth workout' was, at one time, the top search suggestion when you Googled the actor's name. Similarly, if you type in 'Chris Pratt Guardians', then a suggestion suffixed with 'diet' will also come up – with a plethora of advice articles. And some other helpful questions you might want to ask: