Chris Pratt has become part of some pretty big franchises in his career, but he’s not exactly an actor known for physical transformation like a Christian Bale or Gary Oldman. He mostly just looks like himself. And while one of Pratt’s big roles for 2023, as the voice of Mario in the Super Mario Bros. movie, really doesn’t require a physical transformation. It seems that Pratt has gone full Mario-stache in the new year.
In a pair of images posted to Instagram Chris Pratt is looking significantly more like Nintendo’s famous plumber than usual. He has grown out a mustache, but not just any mustache. This one is a pretty significant stache, check it out in the picture below.
While Pratt does have bit of beard going on, this new look is almost all mustache, which is a look that men don’t generally go with these days. It feels like a throwback to another era and while it would probably take some getting used to. It’s not a bad look for the actor.
When an actor goes through even the slightest physical transformation one has to wonder if it’s being done for a role. Growing or shaving facial hair, along with hitting the gym, is a pretty common element of an actor getting ready to play a character. He does have a couple of films that he’s attached to, including The Russos. Bros. The Electric State and the long in development Cowboy Ninja Viking, directed by Michelle MacLaren. It’s possible the new look means one of those films is about to start shooting.
Of course, it could also just be that Chris Pratt is enjoying the holiday season by doing something he probably rarely gets to do, like grow out his hair. Because his roles require him to generally have a certain look, even if that look is simply “look like the Chris Pratt that everybody expects” he likely doesn’t often get to grow a mustache just because he wants to, so this could be his chance to do it before having to go back to work. Pratt’s not the only guy to just let the facial hair go over the holidays.
Of course, the fact that Chris Pratt looks just that much more like Mario could ultimately be intentional. The Super Mario Bros. Movie is set to hit theaters in early April, which will be here before you know it. Perhaps Chris Pratt will keep this new look until then. He’ll be doing lots of promotion for the film between now and then, it’s his next major project, coming out a month before the long awaited Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so if he’s going to be doing lots of interviews about the movie, he might as well look that much more like the character he plays.