They may be the Guardians of the Galaxy on the silver screen, but in real life, the five lead characters of Marvel's mega hit are American actors that hail from five different states in the USA. With a highly anticipated sequel about to hit theaters on May 5th we thought it would be fun to take a look at where in the USA the Guardians of the Galaxy call home.
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Chris Pratt - Peter Quill/Star Lord - Lake Stevens, WA
Besides being the leader of the rag tag Marvel guardians, Chris Pratt is also one of the biggest movie stars in the world. His other star vehicle, the massively popular Jurassic World (which will soon be followed by Jurassic World 2) grossed nearly $2 billion worldwide.
Long before his stardom, Pratt was raised in a little Washington state town of 30,000 residents called Lake Stevens. The actor has been very vocal about his love for his home state, currently raises his family there, and even recently donated funds to build a teen rec center in his home town.
"Hopefully this will inspire some kids to think they can achieve their dreams and get out of the town if they want to," said Pratt about his donation in a recent NY Daily News interview. "It can happen to a kid from Lake Stevens, because it happened to me."
Chris Pratt's love of his state goes so deep, he was recently spotted wearing the Washington Home T!
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When she was 10 years old, Zoe Saldana moved with her family to the Dominican Republic. Prior to that, she was raised in Queens, New York. Zoe's time in this borough of NYC was long enough to give her a distinct Queens accent, which she talked about warmly on the Queen Latifah Show.
“It’s the Queens accent”, Saldana said, reverting to her childhood slang, “it took me a while but every now and then every time I go back to Queens I’m like ‘staaaahhpp!...lemme tell you wha happennn’d’...I’m so proud of my hoochie mama accent!”
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Long before he was staring in the highest grossing comedy series of all time (The Hangover trilogy), or providing the voice of a homicidal space raccoon, Bradley Cooper was a kid growing up in the suburbs of Philadelphia, PA. Specifically the borough of Jenkintown. Growing up in the city of Brotherly Love is something Cooper is clearly proud of. He’s a rabid Philadelphia Eagles fan, going so far as to provide the voice-over for Eagles TV promos.
“I have a tremendous amount of pride because my family's roots are imbedded in Philly,” said the actor in a recent CBS interview.
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You might be surprised to learn that everyone’s favorite talking tree is voice by action star Vin Diesel, famous for his Fast and Furious movie franchise. It’s actually a pretty spot-on pairing given the star’s reputation for having a deep baritone voice. Rumor has it the actor recorded his famous, “I am Groot”, line in five different languages to accommodate international viewers.
Vin Diesel was raised as Mark Vincent in the Big Apple itself, New York City. Although he grew up quite poor, his family had enough to afford the occasional movie ticket. It was in the dark theaters of NYC that his dreams of becoming an actor first formed.
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Drax, the “destroyer of worlds,” is played by former professional wrestler Dave Bautista. Given that he’s a six time WWE World Champion, it’s no wonder he plays the “destroyer” so well. Bautista’s childhood was spent in a low income section of Washington D.C. His mother eventually moved the family to San Francisco where he spent the rest of his childhood.
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Where do you call home?
No matter which state you are from, you can show off your home pride with one of our insanely soft, made in the USA Home Ts. Click here to choose your state. A portion of every purchase is donated to multiple sclerosis research.