Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: Chris Pratt reveals film helped him cope with his father's death

'The truth is I ripped open some wounds that had been healing for some time. And I didn’t want to. But I knew it was right for the moment'

For an actor to plunge into a major franchise is quite the immersive experience.

Staying with one character for such a prolonged time inevitably breeds a level of intimacy between role and performer; you only need to look at Robert Downey Jr. - who can be pretty indistinguishable from Tony Stark - to see how closely the two can fuse.

Chris Pratt's role as Peter Quill (AKA Star-Lord) ended up particularly hitting home during the filming of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, which took place after the passing of Pratt's father last year and ended up aiding the actor in coming to terms with his death.

In the sequel, Quill is set to come face-to-face with his own long-lost father: the Planet Ego, as played by Kurt Russell.

"The truth is I ripped open some wounds that had been healing for some time. And I didn’t want to. But I knew it was right for the moment," Pratt told GQ of the experience. "There are wounds that are never going to be totally healed. It would probably make for a better story if it was some emotional thing that I hadn’t dealt with... When we face the death of a parent, you sometimes feel regret that you didn’t fully embrace what you had."

Pratt and director James Gunn have already promised Russell's performance will make people cry, which may be a hint at Quill's relationship with his father having more of an emotional slant than might have been expected from the irreverent Marvel offering.

Pratt is currently busy promoting Passengers, which sees the beloved A-lister pairing up with Hollywood's other adorkable mega-star, Jennifer Lawrence; in a space adventure-romance which sees the duo accidentally woken up from their hibernation and trapped on a malfunctioning spaceship, 90 years away from their destination.

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 hits UK cinemas 28 April 2017.