Chris Pratt stars in and executive produces the new Prime Video series “The Terminal List,” about Navy SEAL James Reece (Pratt) who starts suspecting something complex and sinister was behind his entire platoon being ambushed during a mission. It marks the Marvel star’s first time as one of the bosses on a television series.
Although the shoots on the show based on Jack Carr’s bestselling novel were long, and for much of the cast playing members of the military physically taxing, the cast had nothing but praise for their co-star and EP.
“What you see is what you get in terms of his great attitude and his enthusiasm,” Jeanne Tripplehorn, who plays Defense Secretary Lorraine Hartley in the series, told TheWrap.
Tripplehorn, whose character interacts with Reece as he starts following up on his hunch, said there was a few-month period where she didn’t see Pratt as he filmed more intense material. Despite the emotional demands and physicality of that time, she said her co-star returned for their later-episode scenes with the same enthusiasm he started with.
“He energizes everybody by his presence, but I didn’t know what I was going to find four months later, three months down the line,” she continued. “It was at the very end, [and] things are really intense. He walked on set [and] I almost didn’t recognize him.”
Pratt retuned “bulked out” and muscled, “covered in all this makeup.” “He had been through the wilderness, but he walked on set [with] the biggest smile,” Tripplehorn said. “He hadn’t lost an ounce of that energy and positivity. We were laughing. I mean, it carries over, and the crew needed that. The crew was exhausted. They had been through all of it with him. I think if he had been a different person, the set would have been [different].”
LaMonica Garrett echoed Tripplehorn’s comments. He plays Commander Bill Cox, a high-ranking military official who advises Reece.
“That same enthusiasm from Day 1, like Jean said, he carried it to the very end, and the crew needed that because these were long, hard days and nights,” he said. “They were tired. Chris brought them back.”
Pratt addressed the praise himself, saying it was important for him to go into the project with a positive outlook, no matter how tiring or demanding the days.
“As they say, attitude is contagious. Make sure yours is worth catching,” Pratt told TheWrap. “That’s a big part of leadership, I think: having a positive attitude. This was a mountain of work, and it was complicated, and we definitely got our bumps and bruises along the way – as you do when you take on any big challenge. But it’s always important to me to make sure that people feel welcomed. When people feel there’s positivity around them in a creative environment, I think they just bring their best.”
Pratt continued: “I’m not one of these Machiavellian leaders who’s going to, like, demean someone into performance. It’s all love, and the more everybody can feel supported, the bigger the swings they’re willing to take. If you make someone feel vulnerable to get a performance – I’ve worked with directors who’ve done that, [and] that’s their process, fine. That’s not how I like to work. I like to just create a positive, friendly environment and let people show up and do great work because they feel good being there.”
All episodes of “The Terminal List” are streaming now on Prime Video.
