Chris Pine names his five most influential acting idols: “I’m all over the spectrum”
Chris Pine has run the gamut, captaining the USS Enterprise, falling in love with Wonder Woman, and being spat on by Harry Styles.
Ever since he burst onto the scene in the early 2000s, the handsome leading man has never been far from the public eye, and while he hasn’t reached the same critical heights as some of his contemporaries, his box office receipts and recognition speak for themselves.
From the start of his career, Pine has shared the screen with some utter legends. Smokin’ Aces, one of his earliest films, starred Ryan Reynolds, Andy Garcia, and Ray Liotta, among others, and his very first leading movie, The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, featured none other than the great Julie Andrews. Alas, when it comes to Pine’s all-time idols, Mary Poppins just doesn’t cut it.
Speaking to the Los Angeles Times ahead of the release of the first Star Trek film, a young Pine was asked about some of the actors he looked up to, and he singled out the great Paul Newman, who died the year before Star Trek came out. Pine said he was a fan of Newman’s “longevity and the good he was able to do in the world,” referencing the numerous charitable contributions the Oscar winner made throughout his life.
Pine wasn’t done there, and alongside Newman, he also named a number of contemporary stars he looked up to, including one who shared his admiration for the star of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
“George Clooney, for the conversation about commerce and art,” Pine explained. This was during a period where Clooney was balancing his artistic pursuits with more mainstream work. In 2007, for example, he was in Ocean’s Thirteen, Michael Clayton, and two documentaries about the crisis in Sudan.
Pine continued with his list, namedropping, “Daniel Day-Lewis for his almost monkish pursuit of protecting artistic integrity, which I’m in sheer awe of. I would certainly love to be held in the kind of esteem he is. Sean Penn and Gary Oldman, I’ve had an acting crush on for years. I’m all over the spectrum.”
You can split Pine’s acting idols into two distinct groups of ‘movie stars’, which comprises Newman and Clooney. They are the instantly recognisable faces who don’t always play characters as much as versions of themselves. Then there are the ‘character actors’, like Day-Lewis, Oldman, and Penn, who disappear into their roles (especially the first two), to the point where you can’t even say for sure if it’s them you’re watching. Personally, I would put Pine in the former category, as he’s not known for getting lost in his performances.
This interview was conducted the better part of 20 years ago, so it’s up to you if you think Pine actually did incorporate those five actors into his own style. Although there aren’t many who put him in the same category as his heroes, Daniel Day-Lewis never starred in a Dungeons & Dragons movie, did he?
