Actor of the Week: Chris Pine
Being such huge film fans, it's difficult to pick an Actor of the Week each week. The latest goes to Chris Pine, having been inspired by his turn in Wonder Woman, released this week. Good looking, charismatic and at a peak currently, Pine is sought after and an excellent addition to any cast.
Pine has a plethora of movie roles under his belt. He began his career in film opposite Anne Hathaway in 2004’s The Princess Diaries 2. He has also starred in popular films like This Means War and Horrible Bosses 2. He has excellent diversity to his name; The Princess Diaries 2 being a down-to-earth children's film, and the latter two being straight-up comedies. His range is once again displayed in 2014’s Into The Woods as Cinderella’s Prince. In this film, he sings, and can sing pretty well! He also lends his voice to Jack Frost in 2012’s Rise of the Guardians - an animated family film, and one I happen to have enjoyed very much!
In spite of all these top roles, my favourite of his has to be in the Star Trek reboots. He has starred as Captain James T. Kirk in the three Star Trek reboots so far: Star Trek, Star Trek Into Darkness and Star Trek Beyond. With his turns as Kirk, we see many of his key diverse traits. There are scenes where he is smug and sarcastic, displaying his humorous side. There are scenes where he’s really called upon to step up, especially in Star Trek, because Kirk has just assumed the control of the Enterprise and he’s making big calls as the leader - though he’s constantly learning in Star Trek and for much of Into Darkness. Here, he really pulls you in and convinces you that what is going on is real and is very engaging. Because he is a young leader charged with big responsibility, we get Pine putting brashness, cockiness and immaturity into the dramatic scenes alongside conviction, and I instantly loved his character.
Where I feel he is at his best is in the scene towards the end of Star Trek Into Darkness, where he has sacrificed himself to save the crew and ship and enter the warp core of the Enterprise due to a massive radiation leak. In this scene he brings an excellent blend of humility and emotion. With a dying Kirk finally recognising the qualities of others - notably having been dismissive of Spock’s black and white, robotic calculus - we get Pine conveying friendship and gratitude, but he is also in fear. There is also a flicker of humour early in the scene, when he says Khan using what he wanted against them was ‘a nice move’. I feel it’s a great example of Pine bringing his multiple skill set to a three minute window. Hats off! Check out the scene below.
I’m yet to see Wonder Woman personally, but I have every confidence it’ll be yet another quality performance from Pine, as he seems to go from strength to strength with every film. Nice work Chris, you’re the man!
