Thanks to his role as Star-Lord, the rogue with a heart of gold in Marvel's latest blockbuster Guardians of the Galaxy, Chris Pratt has been launched onto the Hollywood A-list – but life wasn't always so cushy. The Parks and Recreation star was once a homeless, struggling actor living in Hawaii in a van. Pratt posted on Facebook a photo of himself standing beside the van, which had a picture of the cartoon characters Scooby Doo and Shaggy on the side, clutching a script. He wrote: "Can't believe I found this picture!!! That is the van I lived in!!! In my hand is the script for the movie that got me out of Maui. Crazy." The film was the short horror film Cursed: Part III, which dates the photo to about 2000. Pratt previously told Entertainment Weekly about his days in Hawaii – a friend had convinced him to move there. "We set up camp on the beach and lived the dream." While working there as a waiter, Pratt served the director Rae Dawn Chong, who gave him a role in Cursed – the launching pad for his career. – The National staff
Downton Abbey actors use plastic-bottle gaffe to help charity
The cast of Downton Abbey have poked fun at their "water bottle-gate" publicity photo howler – in aid of charity. Fans were amused last week when a plastic water bottle was clearly visible in a picture of the Earl of Grantham and Lady Edith promoting the fifth season of the popular British period drama, which is set in the early 1900s. Now the good-natured cast have decided to take the jokes at their expense on the chin and use the publicity it has generated to benefit a good cause. Clutching bottles of water and looking sheepish, they posed for a picture to raise awareness of the life-saving work of the international charity WaterAid. Barbara Frost, the chief executive of the charity, said: "How fantastic that the attention created over one water bottle ends up benefiting some of the world's poorest communities through access to safe, clean water today." Meanwhile, fans of the show raised £40,750 (Dh250,450) for armed forces charities at a Christie's auction of 12 items and experiences based on the show, including a chance to sleep at Highclere Castle, the real-life Victorian castle used as the location for the series, butlering lessons and having a portrait painted. – The National staff
Actor and director Aparna Sen appears at fraud probe
The actor and director Aparna Sen appeared yesterday before the Kolkata enforcement directorate in connection with the Saradha chit fund scam. Sen, who was the editor of a magazine published by the group, was summoned by the agency that is investigating the scam. The Trinamool Congress leader and West Bengal textile minister, Shyamapada Mukherjee, was also scheduled to appear. The first state minister to be questioned in the scam, Mukherjee has been summoned regarding the transaction of a plot of land with the Saradha group in 2000. – IANS
