When Chris Pratt first appeared on NBC’s Parks and Recreation, we got to know him as Andy, the lovable doofus next door. He’s since appeared in small roles here and there and is hilarious at every turn. Now he’s trying the role of hero on for size as Emmet in The LEGO Movie as well as Star-Lord in Marvel’s upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy.

Nerdist caught up with Pratt at the premiere of The LEGO Movie, where he shared what he liked about playing his character.

Pratt on Emmet: “He’s a very regular sort of sad, lonely character, and then is given the opportunity to do something just extraordinary and live up to this potential that he’s always thought he had inside of him and there’s a ton of amazing action and a really awesome catchy song, insane sequences, it’s like, I don’t know, watching Transformers but made out of Lego bricks.”

Where will The LEGO Movie stand in the pantheon of American cinema? Pratt had strong feelings about his latest film: “It’s truly, truly unique and just honestly my favorite movie of all time. It goes like, [The] Lego Movie, Casablanca, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs [also directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller], Citizen Kane and all other movies.”

And of course, we had to ask about Guardians. While known to fans of Marvel comics, Guardians could be a tough sell to people less familiar with the series. Did he enjoy bringing a lesser known property to life on the big screen? “[I]t was kind of nice. I think it was a benefit… that there wasn’t, like a movie franchise that we were recreating or rebooting. It was a chance for us to do something really unique and original and tell an amazing story. There have been a lot of incarnations of the comic, this is just another incarnation but told in a different medium. I think [director] James Gunn did an amazing job. He’s a maniac in the best way, and, honestly, the movie is going to be like right up there with The LEGO Movie as the greatest thing you’ve ever seen in your life.”

The LEGO Movie opens this Friday and Guardians of the Galaxy makes its debut on August 1, 2014.