Yes, Chris Pine is a nepotism baby. Not everyone is perfect. Thankfully, his diverse portfolio speaks for itself. To wider audiences, Pine is Star Trek’s Captain Kirk, Wonder Woman’s dreamy boyfriend, and most recently, Florence Pugh’s nemesis in Don’t Worry Darling. Meanwhile, those of us with taste — that is, millennials and Gen-Zers — might recognize him as Lord Devereaux of The Princess Diaries 2: A Royal Engagement.
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Pine’s IMDb page is also full of indie projects. He sings. He reads voraciously. And despite being absent from social media, the Internet still swoons for him. Is it his love for literature? Is it his unapologetic fashion choices? Is it his zoning out during interviews?
Sure, no one article can gather all the empirical evidence of Chris Pine’s charm, much less analyze it. But you can’t blame us for trying to delve into the actor’s psyche. Read on for Pine’s perspective on being mistaken for other celebrities, love, and the analog lifestyle.
Pine's Grounded Sense of Humour
It’s always awkward when you’re recognized as someone else. The same is true for Chris Pine. He shared with Jimmy Kimmel many often mistake him for his fellow Chrises or even Ryan Reynolds and Matt Damon. But taking it in stride, Pine’s got a hilarious way to introduce himself for the unaware: “[I’m] Chris Evans, Captain America.”
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Beyond cracking jokes, Pine doesn’t seem to care much for the MCU clout. Back in 2018, Pine voiced blonde Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Though he took no part in the popular No Way Home, there were no hard feelings. Pine told Yahoo it was a “full team already” and he’d “happily sit this one out.”
Chris Pine’s sense of humour comes from grounded self-confidence. He was secure enough to poke fun at his fame and able to celebrate his Spidey colleagues.
Likewise, when it comes to the idea of pursuing music professionally, Pine says: “I’d love to. I’m sure we would get … eviscerated by that lovely thing we call the Internet … F*ck them anyway. Actually, just to spite them, I will.”
Spiteful (or spit-full) as he is, Pine understands the importance of laughing at yourself.
On Masculinity and Aging With Grace
Pine pirouettes to the beat of his own drum. In March 2022, the actor’s current workout routine sparked headlines (even earning him a Men’s Health feature) when he revealed he takes ballet classes. The actor described the art form as “difficult” and “so beautiful because you have to be strong and kind of masculine, so to speak, but also very gentle and feminine with your arms and hands.”
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His ballet appreciation — which many still associate with white women — should come as no surprise to long-time fans. In a 2014 interview with Elle, Pine briefly acknowledged the ambiguity of what it means to be a man, calling masculinity a “pretty complex and pretty subjective” concept.
With all this in mind, it’s not shocking how Pine swerves from the Hollywood culture of chasing youth. Embracing his silver fox status, he’s unabashedly “enjoying the aging process and the gray hair and the wrinkles.”
He's As 'Down to Earth' As it Gets
Pine’s view on masculinity is by no means revolutionary, but perhaps some part of it must come from his passion for reading. In case you missed it, the Don’t Worry Darling star has spawned an unofficial book club and is often photographed frequenting local bookstores.
Chris Pine has also prided himself on going analog. (The man was using a flip phone for years which says it all.) Recently, Pine opened up about the dangers of his new iPhone, or as he calls it, a new “crack machine.” He lamented his worsening reading habits — he now knew more about Pete Davidson and Kim Kardashian than literature.
Pine just might crawl back to the comforts of his flip phone. Reflecting on the overwhelming atmosphere of the internet, he confesses: “I don’t know if my soul can handle it.”
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Evidently, Pine is an old soul and an introspective romantic. In fact, he’s rather optimistic about dating. He openly admits: “I love first dates. I think they’re incredibly fascinating studies in human psychology. When you sit down across from someone on a first date and things are going alright, you talk objectives. We want to win each other over, so how do you win someone over? You have to put the best foot forward.”
He certainly won over the internet, limbs and all, when he said this in a public service announcement: “Ambition is very sexy.”
His Motivations Behind the Screen
For all his love for ambition,Chris Pine’s career goals aren’t set in stone. He’s 100% okay with this. He didn’t go into acting for the passion of it. To him, “acting was something that seemed to pop out of nowhere and then just took over” his life. Similarly, Poolman, his upcoming directorial debut, “started as this little pebble in a pond.”
Pine lets the creative current lead and inspire him.
This mindset is likely why he doesn’t think the Star Trek franchise shouldn’t try to replicate Marvel’s formula. Pine says the movies are “for [those] that love this group of people, that love this story, that love Star Trek.” A true cinephile, Pine also believes “they should focus on making it for a budget so that when it doesn’t make a billion, it’s still a win.”
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In 2014, he said this of his portrayal of Jack Ryan: “I didn’t want to make a film about a flag-waving American patriot. I was more interested in making a film about a man who responded to his own sense of right and good. I thought that was more important than some cold war vision of the world and right and wrong.”
Whether he’s asking to be beamed up or playing a not-so-charming prince, Chris Pine brings his heart into every project. Except for horror. “I don’t want to bring that energy home with me,” he says. “Just not my thing.” (Hey, we love a man who knows his boundaries.)
Mindful and Humble Wins the Race (and Hearts)
Maybe what’s most alluring about Chris Pine is his superpower: minding his own business. In a conversation with Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins, he described “being in the film and supporting a woman doing that job is kind of a dance between ego and soul.” By discussing his role as Steve Trevor with Jenkins, he learned not to center himself.
“As a man and an actor and an ego-ful person,” he shared, “you really make peace with that and have a sense of humor about it and say, well, screw it then.” This self-awareness shone through his performance and the internet subsequently dubbed him as “the most supportive boyfriend.”
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Even after years in the business, Pine remains level-headed. With the wisdom of a veteran heartthrob, he says, “Hollywood is like living in a weird bubble. A bunch of people take care of you and get you stuff, and you’re the center of that little microcosmic world. You start believing that it is real.”
Thankfully, Pine’s seen the light. “I’m certainly not the greatest actor in the world, but I consider myself someone who has a nice big tool bag,” he muses. (The same can be said for Don’t Worry Darling co-star Harry Styles.)
While the public probably has something more generous to say of Pine, it’s comforting to know at least one Chris is doing the most … by doing the least. Less is more, right?
