NEW YORK, Jan. 25 (UPI) -- Guardians of the Galaxy, Jurassic World, The Lego Movie and Super Mario Bros. Movie icon Chris Pratt says he was excited to star in Mercy because it gave him his first opportunity to play a cop.
"I've never played a detective before," Pratt, 46, said in a recent panel discussion at New York Comic Con before being corrected by audience members who shouted out, "Burt Macklin!"
"Oh, that's true! I played Burt Macklin, a true homicide detective. Burt Macklin, FBI. I work for the President of the United States of America," he quipped, referring to a faux FBI agent alter-ego he occasionally assumed on the sitcom, Parks and Recreation.
"I've never played a serious detective before. So, this was a departure for me, something different for me to try," he added. "High stakes. He's a guy who has seen a lot and been through a lot. He's part of this special new Mercy program they designed using AI to modify their court system to be more efficient and to face the rise in capital crime in this version of Los Angeles. They just want to get the murderers off the street and send a message."
Helmed by Timur Bekmambetov and in theaters this weekend, the film is set in the near future when Chris Raven (Pratt) stands trial for the alleged murder of his wife and has 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an advanced AI judge (Rebecca Ferguson).
