Skip to main content

New York has no idea who Chris Pratt is in this new Billy on the Street segment

Billy on the Street - Chris Pratt Lightning Round
He’s arguably one of the hottest actors today, starring in major films like Jurassic World and Guardians of Galaxy. Yet a new segment from Billy on the Street suggests that there’s one group of people who could still walk right by the up-and-coming A-lister and have no idea who he is: New Yorkers.

In the first episode of the Funny or Die show’s fourth season, which aired October 8 on its new home at truTV, host Billy Eichner did what he does best and took to the streets of New York to pose random questions to random passers-by. But this time, he had Pratt in tow, running alongside him for his Lightning Round. As per usual, he carried around a bunch of dollar bills. And this time, he was asking the New Yorkers to name the actor who stood with him to receive a buck.

Recommended Videos

Related: Kanye West crashes American Idol auditions as show ramps up to final season 

Please enable Javascript to view this content

While Pratt took it like a man, it must have been a little bit soul crushing to talk to person after person, of varying age groups, who looked puzzled as to who this young man was accompanying Eichner. He’s a good-looking guy, one man admitted. Another mistook Pratt for another famous Chris, and a third, still, believed it when Eichner told him Pratt was Josh Duhamel. (At least Pratt can take some solace in the fact that the New Yorker clearly didn’t know who Duhamel was either.)

Eichner tries his best to get the random folks to clue in, naming the movies Pratt has most recently appeared in, and even quoting magazines that have called him one of the hottest actors of today. But in most cases, no dice. Eichner even recoils in horror as one couple declares they “don’t watch TV.” “He’s in movies!” Eichner cries, jokingly stating that the actor is no longer slaving it away on TV anymore. (Pratt, of course, had a major role on Parks & Recreation.)

Even when Eichner does come across a woman who recognizes Pratt immediately, one of her first comments to him relates her love for his wife. Drats.

It’s a segment worth watching. And while you might be tempted to pity Pratt,  we think he’s doing quite alright, and perhaps enjoying his new-found ability to walk the streets of NYC, clearly undetected.

Christine Persaud
Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…
Watch Tesla’s Cybertruck cruise the streets of New York City
tesla cybertruck features price specs release date photos 6

Tesla’s futuristic Cybertruck pickup was spotted cruising through the streets of New York City on Saturday, May 8, just hours before Elon Musk, the company’s flamboyant CEO, hosted Saturday Night Live.

Tesla tweeted a short clip showing the pickup -- or a prototype of the as-yet-unreleased vehicle -- passing by Radio City Music Hall in Manhattan.

Read more
New York Comic Con will go online-only this October
stormtrooper robocop working together mass hysteria ny comic con pictures nycc 2014 19

New York Comic Con will follow the example set by San Diego Comic-Con International and go completely virtual for the 2020 version of the annual pop culture convention.

Originally scheduled to happen in October at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, New York Comic Con will now encompass a series of live and pre-recorded panel events on the convention's YouTube channel. The virtual New York Comic Con will begin October 8 and run through October 11.

Read more
Spotify playlist offers the familiar sounds of pre-pandemic New York
noise reduction new york city

New York City is still in lockdown as it continues to grapple with the appalling effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

With most businesses in the usually bustling city ordered to close in mid-March in a bid to slow the spread of the virus, the unique sounds of the Big Apple have slipped away, leaving its inhabitants wondering how long it'll be before life returns to normal.

Read more