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| Chris Pine: 'Jack Ryan could be your accountant' | Chris Pine: 'Jack Ryan could be your accountant' |
| (30 days later) | |
| Chris Pine has already gone where one man has gone before. In 2009, and again last year, he took on Captain Kirk, a part until then synonymous with William Shatner. So tackling Jack Ryan, the CIA agent played by various actors over the years, wasn't such a big deal. "I think I learned my lesson doing Kirk," says Pine. "You can cage yourself in if you start thinking, 'I've got to copy this or that.' But just knowing what others have done – having the pillars of the character – helped." | Chris Pine has already gone where one man has gone before. In 2009, and again last year, he took on Captain Kirk, a part until then synonymous with William Shatner. So tackling Jack Ryan, the CIA agent played by various actors over the years, wasn't such a big deal. "I think I learned my lesson doing Kirk," says Pine. "You can cage yourself in if you start thinking, 'I've got to copy this or that.' But just knowing what others have done – having the pillars of the character – helped." |
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| Set in the modern day and directed by Kenneth Branagh, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit deals with the agent's origins. But it is not a prequel to the previous big-screen adventures: Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October; Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger; Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears. "Seen all of them," nods Pine. "Loved them. Alec brought a really incisive, confident quality to his portrayal, Harrison brought a humility. Those were circling around, but what I took as the nexus of Jack was 9/11 and his experience of war." | Set in the modern day and directed by Kenneth Branagh, Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit deals with the agent's origins. But it is not a prequel to the previous big-screen adventures: Alec Baldwin in The Hunt for Red October; Harrison Ford in Patriot Games and Clear and Present Danger; Ben Affleck in The Sum of All Fears. "Seen all of them," nods Pine. "Loved them. Alec brought a really incisive, confident quality to his portrayal, Harrison brought a humility. Those were circling around, but what I took as the nexus of Jack was 9/11 and his experience of war." |
| Previous interviewers have noted that, despite his classic action-hero looks, Pine actually seems more of a Spock than a Kirk: a thinker, an analyser. And one piece noted he was "far left even for Hollywood" – while Tom Clancy, who wrote the Ryan books, was famous for his Conservative ideology. Ryan is a definite patriot in this new film, 9/11 having spurred him to join the military. Is Pine comfortable with such nationalism? | Previous interviewers have noted that, despite his classic action-hero looks, Pine actually seems more of a Spock than a Kirk: a thinker, an analyser. And one piece noted he was "far left even for Hollywood" – while Tom Clancy, who wrote the Ryan books, was famous for his Conservative ideology. Ryan is a definite patriot in this new film, 9/11 having spurred him to join the military. Is Pine comfortable with such nationalism? |
| "No," he says. "In fact, I was concerned at the beginning – 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. | "No," he says. "In fact, I was concerned at the beginning – 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. |
| "There were discussions, debates and arguments. That's why I felt the scene where I get recruited was important. I force my mentor to make the argument why I should join. His argument is complicated and simple at the same time – to make sure 9/11 doesn't happen again. That is the murky, moral morass that is government, politics, espionage and the security agencies." | "There were discussions, debates and arguments. That's why I felt the scene where I get recruited was important. I force my mentor to make the argument why I should join. His argument is complicated and simple at the same time – to make sure 9/11 doesn't happen again. That is the murky, moral morass that is government, politics, espionage and the security agencies." |
| In Shadow Recruit, Ryan later tells his mentor: "You sold this as a desk job." But really Ryan should have known better: until we get our first office-based action film (and what with the increasing reliance on desk-bound surveillance and drone warfare, it's surely only a matter of time), we'll have to make do with our old friends: bombs and car chases. | In Shadow Recruit, Ryan later tells his mentor: "You sold this as a desk job." But really Ryan should have known better: until we get our first office-based action film (and what with the increasing reliance on desk-bound surveillance and drone warfare, it's surely only a matter of time), we'll have to make do with our old friends: bombs and car chases. |
| Still, rugged looks aside, Pine's Ryan is a bit of a departure from typical action heroes. He's got a PhD for a start, and is alarmed (a little oddly, given he's a former marine) at the prospect of actually having to kill someone. Pine says he and Branagh, who plays the Russian villain as well as directing, "were clear that this was not about making him supercool. This was about making him as normal as possible. He could be your lawyer, your accountant. He's the guy who sits at the desk who just so happens to be saving the world. He doesn't have any special skills other than his quick mind and his ability to solve intellectual puzzles. But he also has to be physical when called to it. I like that when he engages in violence, he feels it. There's an emotional impact for him." | Still, rugged looks aside, Pine's Ryan is a bit of a departure from typical action heroes. He's got a PhD for a start, and is alarmed (a little oddly, given he's a former marine) at the prospect of actually having to kill someone. Pine says he and Branagh, who plays the Russian villain as well as directing, "were clear that this was not about making him supercool. This was about making him as normal as possible. He could be your lawyer, your accountant. He's the guy who sits at the desk who just so happens to be saving the world. He doesn't have any special skills other than his quick mind and his ability to solve intellectual puzzles. But he also has to be physical when called to it. I like that when he engages in violence, he feels it. There's an emotional impact for him." |
| Perhaps crime itself is changing. Once, it was enough for Bruce Willis to blast his way to victory armed with just a vest and a Beretta. Now, an "attack" is more likely to be tech-based. You don't need someone who can defuse a bomb with their teeth as much as someone who knows their way around a computer. Pine nods. "That speaks to living in 2014. You can be many miles away and press a button on a keyboard and it can cause devastation." | Perhaps crime itself is changing. Once, it was enough for Bruce Willis to blast his way to victory armed with just a vest and a Beretta. Now, an "attack" is more likely to be tech-based. You don't need someone who can defuse a bomb with their teeth as much as someone who knows their way around a computer. Pine nods. "That speaks to living in 2014. You can be many miles away and press a button on a keyboard and it can cause devastation." |
| Shadow Recruit, which also stars Keira Knightley, adds another dimension: economics. Branagh the evil oligarch wants to bring the US economy, and by implication the world's, to its knees. The timing of the film seems quite fortuitous for its makers, given that it comes in the wake of a deterioration in US-Russia relations. "There is certainly an antagonism," says Pine, stretched out on his sofa in this London hotel. "It's a relationship we constantly have to monitor. We see it even now, with the Russian government banning Americans from adopting Russian children." | Shadow Recruit, which also stars Keira Knightley, adds another dimension: economics. Branagh the evil oligarch wants to bring the US economy, and by implication the world's, to its knees. The timing of the film seems quite fortuitous for its makers, given that it comes in the wake of a deterioration in US-Russia relations. "There is certainly an antagonism," says Pine, stretched out on his sofa in this London hotel. "It's a relationship we constantly have to monitor. We see it even now, with the Russian government banning Americans from adopting Russian children." |
| He moves on to what he recently called the "extraordinary and awful" treatment of gay people in Russia. "Putin said something recently about how they have nothing against homosexuals except they don't want them to interfere in the lives of children, or let children see gay propaganda." He grimaces. "I'm not really sure what gay propaganda is." I mention that, not so long ago, Britain had its Section 28 law. "Did you really? Oh well, I guess it's dangerous to be self-righteous, too." | He moves on to what he recently called the "extraordinary and awful" treatment of gay people in Russia. "Putin said something recently about how they have nothing against homosexuals except they don't want them to interfere in the lives of children, or let children see gay propaganda." He grimaces. "I'm not really sure what gay propaganda is." I mention that, not so long ago, Britain had its Section 28 law. "Did you really? Oh well, I guess it's dangerous to be self-righteous, too." |
| Before his breakthrough role as Kirk in JJ Abrams's 2009 Star Trek reboot, Pine spent a few years playing small parts in various TV shows and a few forgettable films (including the Princess Diaries 2 and Just My Luck with Lindsay Lohan), as well as a well-received role in Neil LaBute's play Fat Pig. Shadow Recruit fixes him, at the age of 33, as Hollywood's latest action hero, even if it's a label he doesn't feel altogether comfortable with. | Before his breakthrough role as Kirk in JJ Abrams's 2009 Star Trek reboot, Pine spent a few years playing small parts in various TV shows and a few forgettable films (including the Princess Diaries 2 and Just My Luck with Lindsay Lohan), as well as a well-received role in Neil LaBute's play Fat Pig. Shadow Recruit fixes him, at the age of 33, as Hollywood's latest action hero, even if it's a label he doesn't feel altogether comfortable with. |
| Pine grew up immersed in Hollywood: his father, Robert, is a successful character actor, best known for playing Sergeant Joseph Getraer in CHiPs, the 1970s TV series about highway patrolmen; his mother Gwynne Gilford was an actor before she became a psychotherapist; and his grandmother, Anne Gwynne, was known as one of the first "scream queens", thanks to her roles in numerous horror films. | Pine grew up immersed in Hollywood: his father, Robert, is a successful character actor, best known for playing Sergeant Joseph Getraer in CHiPs, the 1970s TV series about highway patrolmen; his mother Gwynne Gilford was an actor before she became a psychotherapist; and his grandmother, Anne Gwynne, was known as one of the first "scream queens", thanks to her roles in numerous horror films. |
| Despite all this, Pine didn't think about becoming an actor until he went to college. "I had no opinion one way or another," he says. "It was the thing my father did. Then I was like, 'Oh, this is fun.' And then I'm doing it. Super easy." He quickly clarifies this. "I mean super easy in the sense that I found it, started doing it, and it worked out for me." Was his father worried? "Yeah. He even says to this day, 'I would never suggest anyone get into it because it's a long road that's strewn with failure, rejection and criticism – for how you look, for stuff you can't control.' It can be a dream that's out of your grasp." | Despite all this, Pine didn't think about becoming an actor until he went to college. "I had no opinion one way or another," he says. "It was the thing my father did. Then I was like, 'Oh, this is fun.' And then I'm doing it. Super easy." He quickly clarifies this. "I mean super easy in the sense that I found it, started doing it, and it worked out for me." Was his father worried? "Yeah. He even says to this day, 'I would never suggest anyone get into it because it's a long road that's strewn with failure, rejection and criticism – for how you look, for stuff you can't control.' It can be a dream that's out of your grasp." |
| Pine has said that, had he been able to choose his ideal career, he would have gone for something like Ryan Gosling's, something a little more artistic than heading up two franchises. "It's been a big surprise, my career," he says. "It certainly hasn't worked out like I thought. I guess my interest lay in different places – I began in theatre, playing weird parts in weird plays, enjoying the strangeness of live theatre." | Pine has said that, had he been able to choose his ideal career, he would have gone for something like Ryan Gosling's, something a little more artistic than heading up two franchises. "It's been a big surprise, my career," he says. "It certainly hasn't worked out like I thought. I guess my interest lay in different places – I began in theatre, playing weird parts in weird plays, enjoying the strangeness of live theatre." |
| Does being the face of these franchises bring new pressures? "They cost more money, they pay you more money, and with that comes the desire to make even more money – to make back the money spent on the fucking thing. So yes, there's a pressure to deliver. I try to stay detached. It's difficult, but the less invested you get in the outcome, the safer you are when it doesn't work." | Does being the face of these franchises bring new pressures? "They cost more money, they pay you more money, and with that comes the desire to make even more money – to make back the money spent on the fucking thing. So yes, there's a pressure to deliver. I try to stay detached. It's difficult, but the less invested you get in the outcome, the safer you are when it doesn't work." |
| Although he doesn't seem the type to buy into his own hype, he admits with a smile that he still reads the reviews, still Googles himself. "I've done all of that before and will probably continue to do it, to my detriment. But you try not to. You try, especially during opening week, to tell yourself to simmer down. But I'm human and completely fallible." | Although he doesn't seem the type to buy into his own hype, he admits with a smile that he still reads the reviews, still Googles himself. "I've done all of that before and will probably continue to do it, to my detriment. But you try not to. You try, especially during opening week, to tell yourself to simmer down. But I'm human and completely fallible." |
| After a long pause, he says the biggest challenge these days is "just grounding yourself. It's very easy to be swept up, to take the ride, which is fun. But I also like to shut down for a minute, to breathe and be like, 'OK, so what's next?'" | After a long pause, he says the biggest challenge these days is "just grounding yourself. It's very easy to be swept up, to take the ride, which is fun. But I also like to shut down for a minute, to breathe and be like, 'OK, so what's next?'" |
| • Video interview: Chris Pine | • Video interview: Chris Pine |