How Chris Pratt went from homeless stripper to king of box office

Los Angeles, June 23 (IANS) Actor Chris Pratt has come a long way from his days stripping and living in a van to become one of Hollywoods most lovable, and bankable, action stars.

The actor, who has two blockbusters in theaters this summer with "Avengers: Infinity Wars" and "Jurassic Park: Fallen Kingdom", is poised for another profitable year.

Listed as the fifth "best actor for the buck" by Forbes last year, Pratt raked in $43 million over the past two years, according to the outlet, and is expected to make $10 million for the new "Jurassic World" movie alone, reports Variety.com.

While the actor grew up in a blue collar household and was homeless for a time, he always knew he'd be successful and famous one day.

"My high school wrestling coach reminds me about this time I came into his office and he said, 'Chris, what do you want to do with yourself?' " Pratt told Entertainment Weekly in 2014.

He added: "I was like, 'I don't know, but I know I'll be famous and I know I'll make a s- ton of money.' "

Still, Pratt had no idea how he was going to accomplish that. "I've never really had a plan," he told people.com in 2014. "I've always been a bit of a ham, I guess."

Growing up in Lake Stevens, Wash., he cultivated his charm by selling blackberries door-to-door. As of 2014, Pratt's mother was still working at a Safeway grocery store, and his father, who died that same year, was a gold miner who later worked in construction.

Pratt studied acting at a local community college for half a semester, but dropped out when he saw what he thought was a good money making opportunity, reports people.com.

At 19, he began working as a stripper. "I was always a very much naked person. I loved to always get naked. I was very free, so I thought, I may as well get paid," he told Buzzfeed in 2013.

Pratt gave up the stripper life when a friend invited him to live off the land in Hawaii. "I had a friend who was like, 'Dude, you've got to come out here,' " Pratt told EW. "We set up camp on the beach and lived the dream."