New journey as Capt Kirk
Chris Pine plays 'existentially lost and quieter' Captain Kirk in Star Trek Beyond
Since both his parents are actors, it was only natural that Chris Pine followed in their footsteps.
After guest spots on TV and supporting roles in movies, the 35-year-old hit the big time when he stepped into William Shatner's shoes as Captain Kirk in J. J. Abrams' reboot of the Star Trek franchise.
In the latest sequel Star Trek Beyond, which opens here tomorrow, the crew of the Enterprise are on a five-year mission into the farthest reaches of uncharted space when they face a mysterious enemy who threatens the very existence of the Federation.
After 50 years of this franchise, why do you think it's still popular and relevant?
We have a fervent, rabid and invested fan base that has allowed us to exist for 50 years and still be relevant.
And it's also very important to invite new people into the fold. I think having a new writing team and director behind Star Trek Beyond was intelligent.
Everywhere we went in the past nine days, we heard people say exactly that - had they not been fans before, they would be really excited by this new iteration.
When did you first watch Star Trek?
I first saw the television show with my grandmother when I was growing up. She was a huge Shatner fan and when she babysat me, she watched (TV series) T.J. Hooker and all sorts of Shatner things.
The first time I saw a (Star Trek) film was (1982's) The Wrath Of Khan, somewhere about the time that I started our first film (in 2009).
What is Kirk's journey in this movie?
It's something I have never played before. This is a kind of more existentially lost Kirk, he's a lot quieter and it's not all about him. This is certainly not the Kirk show, which I appreciated.
The emotional bandwidth for this one was a lot bigger.
I really like that scene at the bar with Bones (Karl Urban's Lieutenant Commander, Dr Leonard McCoy) and it's only two pages, but there was a lot of rich stuff in there - about a guy who was still sad about his father and really lost himself, and being a Starship Captain, finding new impetus as he gets older and a new drive - that resonated deeply with me.
You've played a bad guy in movies as well. Do you have a preference?
I enjoy doing a whole lot of different things.
In Into The Woods, I got to overact and kind of play a poor actor, which was a lot of fun.
In Horrible Bosses, I got to be a jackass and do comedy and improvisations.
And Hell Or High Water was for me about not doing much of anything and trying to be as quiet and still as possible.
I guess, as an actor and artist, I like playing different colours. I like the chance to do many different things.
The motorcycle in the film represents something the father passes on to the son. Did your own dad pass on anything meaningful to you?
I shared baseball with my dad in a deep way while growing up. A lot of my fondest memories are throwing the ball with him in the backyard for hours after school.
My father, who has the patience of Job, would go get every ball that I threw over the fence, while I raged that I hadn't thrown a strike.
We just went to a Dodgers game the other day, which was a blast because, again, a lot of the best memories with my father were eating Dodger dogs and talking about baseball.
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