‘Jesus Told Me to Talk to You’: Chris Pratt Recounts the Moment He Came to Faith

In a new interview, actor Chris Pratt gives God the credit for his current success as an actor and explains how feeling comfortable in his own skin has allowed him to pursue his dreams.

He also explained the very moment—when he was preparing for a big party—that a man approached him out of nowhere and completely changed his life forever.

Pratt first discovered his passion for acting in high school after watching his brother on stage and participating in plays thereafter. But the process of getting from his small town of Lake Stevens, Washington to the Hollywood screen wasn’t easy and had several detours. Looking back on those challenges, the Guardians of the Galaxy star says they’re the result of divine timing.

He started out humbly, working as a door-to-door salesman and then moving to Hawaii to work as a waiter at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. restaurant.

On the sales job, Pratt says, “I was great at that.”

Adding that, it provided a “perfect training” for a life of auditions and facing of rejections, he told Vanity Fair.

“That’s why I believe in God and the divine.”

Saying, “I feel like it was perfectly planned. People talk about rejection in Hollywood. I’m like, ‘You’re outta your (obscenity) mind. Did you ever have someone sic their dog on you at an audition?'”

It was in Hawaii that Pratt says he was “saved.” Explaining, “I was sitting outside a grocery store—we’d convinced someone to go in and buy us beer. This is Maui. And a guy named Henry came up and recognized something in me that needed to be saved. He asked what I was doing that night, and I was honest. I said, ‘My friend’s inside buying me alcohol.’ ‘You going to go party?’ he asked. ‘Yeah.’ ‘Drink and do drugs? Meet girls, fornication?’ I was like, ‘I hope so.’ I was charmed by this guy, don’t know why. He was an Asian dude, maybe Hawaiian, in his 40s. It should’ve made me nervous but didn’t. I said, ‘Why are you asking?’ He said, ‘Jesus told me to talk to you …’ At that moment I was like, I think I have to go with this guy. He took me to church. Over the next few days I surprised my friends by declaring that I was going to change my life.’

From that alone his life mission became clear.

Check out the full interview in Vanity Fair. {eoa}

This article originally appeared on FaithWire.com.