AP.org — Looking at Chris Pine’s career, it’s hard to imagine that he hadn’t always harbored a lifelong passion to be an actor.
In a little over a decade since his first big screen role (the sequel to “The Princess Diaries”), Pine, 35, has established himself as one of the most recognizable stars of his generation. He’s got his third “Star Trek” movie coming this summer, followed by “Wonder Woman” in 2017. His latest, “The Finest Hours,” is out Friday.
Stardom of this kind doesn’t come accidentally to anyone, but to talk to Pine is to realize that he truly thinks of it as a lark.
“I don’t even feel like I picked it,” Pine said in a recent interview. “I just started doing plays in college. And then I went to LA. Then I got an agent. It just sort of rolled like a very slow snowball into what I’m doing now. It’s very weird.”
Pine did come from acting stock, however. His father, Robert Pine, is a journeyman working actor best known for “CHiPs” (Sgt. Getraer). His mother, Gwynne Gilford, was also an actress, as was his grandmother, Anne Gwynne. Growing up in Los Angeles meant he was even closer to the business. He did production assistant work on Ryan Murphy’s show, “Popular,” and then on a Roger Corman television show that his father was working on.
“Just regular old nepotism,” Pine said, laughing.
That’s not to say he’s not deeply serious about his profession, accidental or not.
BostonGlobe.com — The director and a few of the stars of “The Finest Hours” were in attendance at AMC Boston Common Thursday for a Disney-hosted special screening of the big-budget, made-in-Massachusetts movie.
Clad in attire decidedly drier than the togs they wear in the high-seas adventure, Chris Pine and Casey Affleck joined director Craig Gillespie, screenwriter Scott Silver, and producers Dorothy Aufiero and Jim Whitaker to promote the film about the Coast Guard’s dramatic, real-life rescue off the Cape Cod coast in 1952.
Pine pointed to “the endurance of going through it, dealing with the cold, and the discomfort” as the toughest part of making the film. “Obviously, what those guys went through was so real and so difficult, and to have a little taste of it was a small price to pay to be able to tell this story.”
Shot around Quincy, Chatham, and elsewhere on the South Shore, the movie stars Pine as Coast Guardsman Bernie Webber, whose crew helped save the lives of more than 30 men on board an oil tanker torn in half by the ferocity of a winter nor’easter.
For Pine, “the sheer facts of the story” set it apart from other potential projects. “It was four men on a 36-foot boat in the dead of winter, going against extreme cold, rain, sleet, snow, and they went out in dangerous waters in a terrible storm, to rescue these people and got back to shore with only one fatality.”
Affleck, who stars as the tanker’s first assistant engineer, believes it’s crucial to keep bringing tales of true heroism to the big screen.
“I don’t have anything against superhero movies,” Affleck said, smiling. “It’s important that these kinds of movies are made, and that we don’t give ourselves over entirely to explosions and violence.”
“Perhaps the most surprising thing about [the shoot] was that a nor’easter came while we were making it,” Whitaker said, laughing. “Most times when you’re making a movie like this, a storm comes and you’re upset, because you have to take time off, but we welcomed the storm. We took full advantage.”
Real-life heroes from the Coast Guard attended Thursday’s screening, including Rear Admiral Linda Fagan, Commander, First Coast Guard District; Air Station Cape Cod’s Petty Officer 3d Class Evan Staph, Distinguished Flying Cross recipient; and Petty Officer 2d Class Derrick Suba, Air Medal recipient. Also there were Casey Sherman and Michael J. Tougias, whose nonfiction book is the basis for the movie, which opens Friday.
In case you missed it Chris did an exclusive fan question and answer on Entertainment Weekly’s official Tumblr page earlier today. You can check out all the questions and his answers below!
Hi Chris, what is your favourite breakfast food?
Well today I had a chocolate croissant and a cappuccino.Is there one particular line or scene in the movie that resonated with you?
When Bernie Webber says: “You gotta go out, but you don’t gotta come back in.” It speaks to the selflessness of the first responders.What’s your favourite flavour starburst?
The orange onesHuge fan, Chris. Which TV series are you currently watching? Thanks.
Just finished The Americans. Loved it. About to move on to season four of Homeland, and eagerly looking forward to Game of Thrones.How many souls did you have to sell to get the shade of your eyes?
I’m a soul saver, not a soul killer.what’s the biggest challenge about filming a movie that’s based on a true story?
Doing justice to the people that actually lived these stories.Doing justice to the people that actually lived these stories.
I always rank my Chrises alphabetically.Chris, what was it like filming such an intense movie? I can’t wait to see it in theatres Love you, btw!
Love you. It was probably the hardest shoot I’ve done. I don’t think anyone likes to be cold, wet and miserable but keeping in mind what all those guys went through years ago kept my actorly complaints in check.Hello Chris. Apples or Grapes?
Neither.Name your three favourite films
The first ones that come to mind are: Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Bugsy Malone and the potential remake of Top Gun.