I didnt want to play that guy anymore.
I wanted to play the absolute opposite of that.
On Aug. 12, youll see what that looks like.
(Jeff Bridges plays the Rooster Cogburn-sounding lawman on their trail.)
Action films unfortunately dont let you spend a lot of time sitting, he says.
So you dont have much time to create something indelible or unique.
A diner scene can be just as moving and powerful and important as an action scene inStar Trek.
Success, particularly a hit franchise likeStar Trek, can be its own trap.
Stars often get paid a lot of money to essentially play the same kind of role theyve played before.
Pine, 35, was itching to break free.
Id been getting scripts from my agents that I didnt really like, he says.
At the time,Hellwas titledComancheria, and Pine responded to it immediately.
He still gets seriously revved up talking about it.
Many of his best scenes are practically silent.
I wanted to be a bigger dog that didnt have to bark so loudly, he says.
Ironically, Pine never expected to bark that loudly in the first place.
That made Pine pragmatic about the industry in a way that few young actors are.
My father has been an actor since 1964, Pine says.
Things were tight a lot of the times, financially.
It wasnt like a big romantic adventure.
Some years were fine.
Some years my father didnt work as much.
S sucked a lot of the time.
So he began his career on a bit of a lark, driven mostly by youthful ego.
I was 21, he says, laughing.
I wasnt really good at anything else.
His first big role came inThe Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.
I was pretty much solely motivated by validation.
I just wanted to be told I was good and handsome and part of the gang.
Hollywood agreed he was all those things, and his career took off.
Thats a wonderful place to be.
So in 2014, after a secondStar Trekand theJack Ryanreboot, Pine got adventurous.
He was a comical villain inHorrible Bosses 2, a singing cad inInto the Woods.
No wonder Johnny Depp likes to put on makeup and do weird s, Pine says.
Its a lot of fun!
Watching him, you find yourself thinking, Who knew Chris Pine could do that?
Turns out, his costar Ben Foster did.
You get to know somebody pretty well when youre taking the same punishments, Foster says.
Hes a true-blue actor.
The moment happened almost by accident.
So he and Foster, director Mackenzie, and cinematographer Giles Nuttgens went into a field to film.
Silhouetted against a darkening sky, their wordless improvisation resulted in the films most poetic imagery.
Paramountjust announced a fourthStar Trekfilm, and Pine will appearas Steve Trevor inWonder Womannext year.
He has raged; hes done well, Pine says.
And then its like he says to himself: Now what?
Do I even want to be here still?
I totally know what that feels like.
I have to find new things to compel and propel meHell or High Waterinto the future.
And then, to go boldly toward it.
A version of this story appeared inEntertainment Weeklyissue #1425, availablehere.
