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'Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 2' ‘Ripped Open’ Old Wounds For Chris Pratt

Pratt opens up about how the ‘Guardians’ sequel helped him cope with his father’s death

Back in July, Chris Pratt revealed that he was moved to tears when director James Gunn told him about Star-Lord's journey in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. At the time, we could only theorize what that meant for his character's relationship with his dad, Ego (played by Kurt Russell), but now we know that Pratt was struggling to make sense of the devastating loss of his own father.

Dan Pratt died in 2014, while Pratt was filming Jurassic World, after years of living with multiple sclerosis. At the time, Pratt said he "compartmentalized" his grief while on set. But in the latest issue of British GQ, the Guardians star candidly revealed how filming the anticipated Marvel sequel actually helped him cope with his dad's death.

"The truth is I ripped open some wounds that had been healing for some time," Pratt said. "And I didn't want to. But I knew it was right for the moment. ... There are wounds that are never going to be totally healed."

"It would probably make for a better story if it was some emotional thing that I hadn't dealt with," he added. "When we face the death of a parent, you sometimes feel regret that you didn't fully embrace what you had."

In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Peter Quill, otherwise known as Star-Lord, and his motley crew of intergalactic misfits, set out on a hunt for Quill's estranged father. Earlier this year, Pratt said the relationship between Quill and his father is a major emotional thread in Vol. 2. "That relationship is so important," Pratt told MTV News. "It's the major thread for Quill and his story in this movie."

As for Pratt's relationship with his own father, the actor described him as an "old-school kind of dad" — which was "actually a good thing," he admitted in a candid 2015 GQ interview.

"In his own way he let me know that he was proud of me," Pratt added. "He didn't really react in any way, one way or another, but he was definitely proud. If I was on TV, he watched everything I was in. So it felt like I was able to communicate with him through doing work that was on TV."

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