With a 20-year career that has seen him star in rom-coms, blockbusters and indie hits, it’s hard to imagine Chris Pine ever had a hard time making it in Hollywood.
But in a recent interview, the 43-year-old filmmaker revealed there was once a time when a paycheck for a supporting role had the potential to change his life.
The “Hell or High Water” star said on “Sunday Sitdown With Willie Geist” that he was getting ready to ask his parents for money when he got the fateful call telling him he was cast in 2004’s “The Princess Diaries 2”.
“I had an overdraft in my bank account, it was like $400 over,” Pine said. “I was driving on the freeway during the height of summer and I got a call from my agents that I had booked the job.”
“I pulled over onto the side of the freeway and they said ‘You’re getting paid $65,000,'” he continued. “It was like they’d just told me I was making $50 million. It was earth shattering.”
Pine says his bank account was overdrawn by $400 when he was cast in “The Princess Diaries 2”.
Frederick M. Brown | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Pine was quick to point out that the $65,000 ended up being closer to $15,000 after taxes and other fees and that the money “lasted no time at all and I owed my parents rent,” but that he knew things were going to be different from then on.
“I just remember distinctly knowing in that moment that my life had changed somehow,” he said. “It’s a wild feeling. I’ll never forget that.”
The film went on to gross more than $130 million, and Pine quickly began booking more roles over the next few years. By 2009, he was cast as Captain Kirk in 2009’s “Star Trek”.
He will be making his directorial debut when “Poolman”, which he stars in and co-wrote, releases later this week.
“I’m living a dream,” he said.
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