Chris Pine catapulted from rising star to bona fide leading man with his performance as James T. Kirk in Star Trek (2009) and, following the blockbuster success of that first film in the rebooted franchise, the young actor faced a major decision: what to do for an encore. He chose Unstoppable, a heart-stopping thriller directed by Tony Scott and co-starring Denzel Washington. Pine and Washington play a newbie conductor and an experienced engineer, respectively, who race the clock to prevent a runaway train loaded with toxic chemicals from wiping out a Pennsylvania town. StarTrek.com recently caught up with Pine for an exclusive conversation in which he chatted up Unstoppable, which will open nationwide on November 12, discussed his Star Trek experience and contemplated Kirk’s future.

Audiences met your Kirk in the first Star Trek movie. As you move forward now and make the character your own, in what ways do you hope to see the character evolve?

Pine: I don’t know. I look forward to his development and bringing to light all his idiosyncrasies and thinking up new ways to surprise people with this character. I just trust Damon (Lindelof) and Bob (Orci) and Alex (Kurtzman) and J.J. (Abrams) and everybody behind it to create (another) good story, because they’ve already done it. I appreciate Kirk’s humor and I think that’s a legacy from Shatner’s Kirk, from the original and only Kirk, which I would love to bring into the future incarnation.

Zachary Quinto got his shot at working with Leonard Nimoy in the first film. What are your thoughts on having Shatner on board for the next film? Is it a great idea or too much of a stretch since they’d just done something similar with Nimoy?

Pine: It just isn’t, quite honestly, my decision to make. I think Mr. Shatner will forever be Captain Kirk. I think it would be, certainly, an interesting thing to bring him back. I don’t know if he necessarily wants to at this point or not. But it’s not my decision.

Continue reading

“Star Trek’s” recent Captain Kirk aka Chris Pine, is taking a break from the big screen and enjoying treading the boards in his new play, “The Lieutenant of Inishmore.”

Playing an Irish terrorist on a quest to save his cat, Chris told “Extra” that this play is like “being a rock star. It’s two hours, it’s quick, it’s fast.”

Pine is best known for his role as Kirk in “Star Trek,” but the eligible bachelor doesn’t plan on jumping into another sci-fi superhero role anytime soon.

“I don’t think I’d look good in a spandex outfit, to be quite honest with you, so, um, I think Superman is definitely out,” he told “Extra’s” Lauren Sanchez.

Return to Chris Pine Network Video Archive

Pine, 29, is turning the big 3-0 next month, and this bachelor is perfectly happy being single. “There’s something about… the feeling that I can pick up at anytime and leave, leave no trace kind of a thing,” he said. He’s also content living in his apartment with the same couch he’s had for nine years.

Chris didn’t always have the desire to be an actor, and was more drawn to sports while growing up. “I played basketball and baseball. I was no good by any stretch.”

It wasn’t until college that Pine used theater as a way to make friends. “It satisfied everything I enjoyed about using your mind and being in front of people and the charge of that… it was just a good fit for me. Ironically enough, I had been around it all my life.”

source

Chris’s voice when discussing what everyone has said about the play is just adorable. So funny!

click here to view the entire album
The Center Theatre Group’s production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore opened at the Mark Taper Forum on Sunday, July 11.

Wilson Milam directs the production, which stars Chris Pine, Ian Alda, Andrew Connolly, Coby Getzug, Seán G. Griffin, Kevin Kearns, Zoe Perry, and Brett Ryback.

Among the opening night guests were Courtney B. Vance, Shawn Christian, Johnny Galecki, Tate Donovan, Robert Pine, and Lorien Hawkins.

The show is set in 1993 on a rocky island in County Galway where Padraic (Pine), a hard-boiled terrorist is lured home by the news that his beloved cat, Wee Thomas, is doing poorly. When Padraic discovers the cat has been murdered, he initiates a cycle of revenge-killing that threatens everyone in his path.

source

Thanks so much to JenLynn for the high qualities! <3

Christopher Pine hasn’t let Captain James T. Kirk get in his way.

In fact, “Star Trek’s” gung-ho starship commander would probably admire Pine’s “I’ll do it my way” approach to his career.

Pine, 29, is a serious theater actor, and unlike most stage-trained performers who find sudden Hollywood fame, he hasn’t abandoned live performance.

Playing Kirk in last year’s blockbuster movie “Star Trek” has put the handsome Los Angeles native on a career fast track, but he’s still a regular on L.A. stages, too. In 2007 he appeared in Neil LaBute’s “Fat Pig” at the Geffen Playhouse; last year he starred opposite Chris Noth in the tense political drama “Farragut North,” also at the Geffen.

Now Pine will tackle one of British theater’s hottest and most challenging playwrights, Martin McDonagh, in the blood-soaked, pitch-dark 2001 comedy, “The Lieutenant of Inishmore.” It opens July 11 at the Mark Taper Forum.

We talked to Pine recently about “Inishmore,” his love of theater, and his career.

The Orange County Register: Did you see this play before landing the role of Padraic, its dark-hearted leading man?

Christopher Pine: I did not. I was more familiar with McDonagh from his film work, the short he won the Oscar for and “In Bruges,” which I was a huge fan of. From there I discovered his theater work. In college I had done a scene from “The Cripple of Inishmaan.” And I had heard from a lot of my friends in New York about how much they’d enjoyed (“Inishmore”).

Continue reading

I’ve added 6 high quality photos of Chris from his latest play, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Be sure to check them out!

Photos courtesy of Craig Schwartz / Center Theatre Group

Gallery Link:
– On Stage – Play Photos > The Lieutenant of Inishmore ( 2010 )