Long before Chris Pratt became a Hollywood superstar, he was living in a van in Hawaii with little money, no acting experience and no idea that one conversation at a shrimp restaurant would change his life forever.

The 47-year-old “Guardians of the Galaxy” star recently took a trip down memory lane, sharing the unlikely story of how he went from waiting tables at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company to becoming one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men.

And it all started when actress and director Rae Dawn Chong walked into the restaurant.

“One day, the incredible Rae Dawn Chong walked into the restaurant, and naturally, I went up to her table and said, ‘Hey, you’re a movie star! What are you doing here?'” Pratt recalled in a post on X.

Chong asked whether he could act. Pratt, who had never auditioned for a movie, didn’t hesitate.

“She asked if I could act, and I said, ‘F— yeah, put me in your movie!'”

His bold response apparently paid off. Chong was casting a low-budget horror comedy and saw something in the young waiter.

There was just one problem. Pratt didn’t even have a phone.

He gave Chong his friend Mike’s number, and a few days later, she reached out. Pratt picked up the script and read all 120 pages three times.

“First script I’d ever read. My character’s name was Devon, and I remember thinking, ‘Sweet! I could totally play a Devon!'”

After auditioning, Pratt landed the role. But there was another obstacle. The movie was filming in Los Angeles, and he had almost no money.

“I had about $60 to my name, a bag of clothes, and some rollerblades,” he recalled.

When Chong offered to fly him to Los Angeles for filming, Pratt realized his life was about to take an unexpected turn.

“I remember thinking right then and there, my life just changed forever. I’m going to be an actor.”

That little movie, “Cursed Part 3,” became the beginning of a career that would eventually make Pratt a household name.

He first won over television audiences as the lovable Andy Dwyer on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation” before becoming Marvel’s Star-Lord in “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Major roles in the “Jurassic World” franchise and other blockbusters soon followed.

But Pratt hasn’t forgotten the woman who took a chance on him when he had almost nothing.

“I’ll forever be grateful to Rae for taking a chance on a kid working at a shrimp restaurant,” he wrote. “Everybody starts somewhere, and this is where it all began for me.”

While Pratt’s career has taken him far beyond his humble beginnings, the actor has also become known for speaking openly about his Christian faith and the importance of family.

The father of four has previously shared that passing his faith on to his children is one of his biggest priorities.

“It’s an incredible blessing to be a father. It’s also a lot of hard work,” Pratt told Fox News Digital in October.

Looking back, Pratt’s story is a reminder that life’s biggest opportunities sometimes arrive when we least expect them.

For one young waiter in Hawaii, all it took was a little courage, a chance encounter and someone willing to believe in him.