Chris Pratt Finally Reveals Why Garfield Hates Mondays (And Why He Agrees) - Exclusive Interview

Chris Pratt has carved two intriguing niches for himself in Hollywood. He tends to play charming action stars with a sense of humor or provide voiceovers for beloved animated characters. Fans flocked to theaters in 2023 to see what he did in "The Super Mario Bros. Movie," and even though he could've done a classic Mario voice, he chose his own take. Now, Pratt will provide his take on another lovable character who's been in many people's lives since childhood — Garfield the cat. 

Fans got a glimpse of Pratt's best voiceover role yet in the first "The Garfield Movie" trailer, and his naturally sarcastic demeanor was well-suited for the fat orange cat who loves lasagna. While Garfield has normally been confined to short comic strips, he goes on a whirlwind adventure in his big cinematic outing (the less said about the Bill Murray "Garfield" movies, which even he regrets, the better). Garfield meets up with his long-lost father, Vic (Samuel L. Jackson), and gets wrapped up in a massive heist. It's a far cry from lying in his cat bed and saying mildly funny zingers toward Jon (Nicholas Hoult). 

Looper had the chance to chat with Pratt about all things Garfield in an exclusive interview. Most importantly, he weighs in on the question that's plagued humanity for eons: Why are Mondays terrible?

Do you have a specific favorite Garfield comic strip or TV special that you really enjoyed growing up?

Man, I have a book that I keep up at the farm, which is just the greatest hits. I just love all the comic strips. And I remember seeing them ... I can't remember specifically which ones, but I just remember at such a young age being exposed to Garfield. I think I was probably like 5 years old, 6 years old. It was right around the time that "Gremlins" came out in the theater. My sister would pull the movies out and get really excited about what movies were coming that weekend. So I'd always pull the comics and the movies, and I just remember Garfield being in there.

Did you have a chance to speak with Jim Davis and maybe get notes from him on how to capture the essence of Garfield?

I took all my notes from Mark Dindal, our director, who basically said, "I want him to be you. I think that Garfield has Chris Pratt's voice. That's just you. You don't have to do anything. There's a certain lazy sarcasm to your voice." I was like, "Oh, really? Thanks." So, it was very easy for me to just breathe my own voice and spirit into the character.

You're known for improvising in various other roles. Did you have a chance to improvise with Garfield? And did anything make it into the final film?

A ton. Yeah. A ton, yeah. It was a lot of colloquial ... And not so much improv per se, but just more colloquializing the words and coming up with stuff on my own. I'd always say it as it's written and then you do it one or two times, and then I would start evolving into making it more naturally my voice. And I think for the most part, it's probably what's written, but there are a few things in there. I can't even remember what was improv and what was written anymore, but it just felt very natural to just come up with ways to say it myself.

You voiced Mario last year. Now you're voicing Garfield. Are there any other comic strip or cartoon characters you'd want to tackle next?

None of them are safe. I'm taking them all down. Q-Bert next, then I'm going to be Pac-Man. No, nothing yet. Nothing that I have planned yet. Hopefully, there'll be more down the road. I love doing voice work. And as long as they're willing to hire me to do it and it lines up, I would like to continue doing it.

What is your opinion on Mondays? Is there a reason this is taking place on a Thursday? You didn't want to do it on a Monday?

I don't like Mondays at all. I don't like Mondays at all. Especially now, I've got kids at home. And I enjoy my time with my kids at home and being home and being away from work. I have the great benefit of loving my job. And I think that what made people love Garfield so much was when it came out in the late '70s, the American dream was working 40 hours a week, and he was the first one to come out and say, "This sucks. I don't want to be at work on Monday. I want to be lazy." And he spat in the face of this nose-to-the-grindstone, American hard-working attitude. And I think that's why it resonated with people. So I happen to like Mondays because I love my job, but I understand that people don't like Mondays because most jobs suck.

Which is weird because Garfield doesn't have a job. So what's he got against Mondays?

You're right. But I think he was just a voice for the people at home who were reading the newspaper. But I think what he has against Mondays in our film is that's when he gets groomed and clipped, and he's not a fan of that.

"The Garfield Movie" comes out in theaters on May 24. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.