Chris Pratt explains why he kicked Brad Pitt out of audition

Pratt recalled his audition for ‘Moneyball’ on ‘The Graham Norton Show’

Chris Pratt has recalled the moment he kicked Brad Pitt out of the room while auditioning for the 2011 sports drama Moneyball.

Pratt was eventually cast as baseball player Scott Hatteberg in the Oscar-nominated film.

During an appearance on The Graham Norton Show, Pratt told the story of his nerve-wracking audition in front of director Bennett Miller and Pitt, the film’s star.

“I'm in this audition room with Brad Pitt and Bennett Miller, and I’m nervous as you can possibly imagine,” said Pratt.

“I was just, like, sitting here next to Brad Pitt and Bennett Miller, who is just a really wonderful director, but he’s kind of a pain in the ass... even he knows that! He's kind of complicated, and, you know, he's sitting back like this with his feet up on his desk, and he's just watching me do the scene. He's like, just infuriating, but I love him.

“He's like: ‘Yeah, it just kind of feels like you're auditioning for this role. You know, this is supposed to be your house, and it feels like you’re a guy who's auditioning next to Brad Pitt, and you’re nervous about it.’”

Chris Pratt and Brad Pitt (Getty)

After receiving sympathetic laughter from The Graham Norton Show audience and guest host Claudia Winkleman, Pratt revealed that he used the criticism to his advantage.

“I was like: ‘Okay.’ And I said: ‘Well, then how about this? This is my house, and you can start by taking your f***ing feet off my desk!’ I kicked him out, and I said: ‘You, Brad, get out! You guys go knock on the door and come back in then we'll do the audition!’ And it worked!”

Pratt is currently starring in Netflix’s sci-fi action film The Electric State, which has been widely panned by critics.

In a one-star review for The Independent, critic Clarisse Loughrey called it “completely incoherent.”

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Winkleman is filling in for Norton while the Irish host takes an extended break from his BBC chat show to perform An Evening With Graham Norton in Australia.

Viewers were left very impressed with Winkleman’s efforts, with one calling her “marvellous” and claiming: “Graham could be out of a job soon”.

One viewer asked: “Can we get Claudia Winkleman hosting Graham Norton next week as well?” with another chiming in: “Eh why doesn’t Ms Claudia Winkleman have her own talk show in the first place may I ask?”

An additional fan agreed that Winkleman should have her own chat show, stating: “She’s definitely holding her own here while Graham is away.”