Chris Pine

Posted on 6 November 2023by Tony CrawleyCategories:Actors

Steven Strait, 10,000 BC, 2008. Son of actor parents, Chris didn’t didn’t start until after college, lost his first audition for Gilmore Girls. Two years later he was in ER as a drunk from a Valentine’s Day party. “There have been, like, three auditions in my life where I feel like I’m in a Saturday Night Live skit,” said actor Robert Pine’s actor son. “One was… 10,000 BC, where I was just, like, on my haunches pretending to be in a loincloth in Burbank” – as the young mammoth hunter D’Leh. His first feature was Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement with Anne Hathaway in 2003.
Sam Worthington, Avatar, 2008. “My worst audition ever,” recalled Pine, when Fox wanted a star – Pine, Matt Damon or Jake Gyllenhaal – for hero Jake. As if director James Cameron wasn’t The Star! Poor Worthington was reduced to living in his car at the time… and Pine was called back from the next audition and won… the new Captain Kirk in the Star Trek reboot.
Garrett Hedlund, TRON Legacy, 2009. Disney actually thought of hiring the new Captain Kirk as Jeff Bridges’ son, Sam. Casey Affeck, Ryan Gosling and Michael Stahl-David were als in the mix for the long-awaited (and, therefore, disappointing) sequel to the 1981 original. Disney rarely gave good science fiction. Until buying Lucasfilm.
Ryan Reynolds, Green Lantern, 2010. Hey, c’mon fella, you’ve already got a franchise… While hunting possible Hal Jordans, the DC Comic hero with the super-powered ring, Warners and 007 director Martin Campbell voted against the new Star Trek’s new Kirk. And for Wolverine’s Deadpool – allowing Reynolds to achieve the rare double whammy of playing both Marvel Comics and DC Comics superheroes. His rivals had been Jack Black, Bradley Cooper, Nathan Fillion, Brian Austin Green, Emile Hirsch, Jared Leto, Eddie Murphy, Justin Timberlake, Sam Worthington. And two Brits: Henry Cavill, Michael Fassbender.
Jeremy Renner, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, 2010. The new M:I agent William Brandt was designed, everyone said, to succeed Tom Cruise when he tired of being Ethan Hunt. Paramount checked out Renner, Christopher Egan, Tom Hardy, Anthony Mackie – and Pine, already in the Paramount family due to the Star Trek franchise. Renner was still around in Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, 2014. But so was Cruise!
Chris Pratt, 10 Years, 2010. Change of Chrisses for the IMDb pitch: High school reunion friends realise they still haven’t quite grown up…They included Channing Tatum, Justin Long, Max Minghella… but not Pine.
Ryan Gosling, The Ides of March, 2010. When the exec producer had to quit (Leonardo DiCaprio, no less), Chris Pine was top substitute until Gosling proved available… for the sort of political Sammy Glick blackmailing presidential candidate George Clooney into a top job.
Ryan Reynolds, Safe House, 2011. All the other new guys – Chris, Zac Efron, Jake Gyllenhaall, Garrett Hedlund, Taylor Kitsch, Shia LaBeouf, James McAvoy, Channing Tatum, Sam Worthington -also angled to be the freshman CIA babysitter having to rescue Denzel Washington from an attacked safe house in the Hollywood debut of Swedish director Daniel Espinosa8
Matthew McConaughey, Mud, 2011. Pine met with Jeff Nichols but the Arkansas auteur’s first choice remained McConaughey – re-born as a fine actor from hereon. He was Nichols’ first choice ever since his work in Lone Star, 1995. Just as Matthew’s work here was the reason Christopher Nolan signed him for Interstellar, 2013. By 2014, Matthew was picking up the Best Actor Oscar for Dallas Buyers Club.. More huge problem for French TV cinema journos who could not pronounce his McName.
Henry Cavill, The Man From UNCLE, 2013. James T Kirk, Jack Ryan and Napoleon Solo!! There was a limit to how many franchises one actor can star in… (Then again, this was nearly Tom Cruise’s third after Mission: Impossible and Jack Reacher). Also inthe mix for in the on-off-on-again update of the 1964-1968 espionage lite series were some 19 Solos. The usual lions: Christian Bale, George Clooney, Matt Damon, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ewan McGregor. And the new tigers: Pine, Bradley Cooper, Michael Fassbender, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jon Hamm, Joel Kinnaman, Robert Pattinson, Ryan Reynolds, Alexander Skarsgård, Channing Tatum. Even Russell C rowe, surely a better bet at 50 for old Waverly, the UNCLE boss. Cavill had also auditioned for Solo’s partner, Ilya Kuraykin. Poor Davis never got it right!
Charlie Hunnam, Triple Nine, 2013. In the mix (with Jeff Bridges) for the corrupt cops blackmailed into an “impossible” heist… which involved killing one of their own.
Billy Magnussen, Into The Woods, 2013.
Casey Affleck, Triple 9, n2015. Title is US PD code for: officer down. (n Ithe UK, it is fopr calling the police). Pine turned into LaBeouf, then Charlie Hunnam, and finally, Affleck, in this Kosher Nostraheist, stuffed with A-listers but listing in the wrong direction. Tighter, faster, it could have been something better than Rerservoir Puppies.
Jeremy Renner, Wind River, 2016. In. Out. And back in ahain… Renner was director Taylor Sheridan’s initial choice for – except he was making Arrival. Sheridan call up Pine and he was into Wonder Women. Then, Renner’s schedule opened a window of opportunity…
Ben Affleck, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2015.
Ezra Miller, Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, 2015.
Colin Farrelll, Dumbo, 2017. If elephants could fly… Well, they do at Disney. Three times, the 1941 toon, the 1985-1986 toon series and now the live-action version. Casey Affleck, Bill Header, Chris Pine, Will Smith passed the code-named Big Ears (wow, wonder what that’s about!) to an exceedingly interested Farrell. Because he was a Tim Burton fan, loved working with (the circus) horses and longed to make ““something as sweet and fantastical and otherworldly, while being grounded in some recognisable world.” Story-wise, this was more Free Willy revisited.
Ezra Miller, The Flash, 2019. After their Gotham triumph, the Batman boys, Jon Peters and Peter Guber, planned the first Flash movie as long ago as 1991. Much later, Ryan Reynolds was up for what would have been the first of his three superheroes (counting Captain Excellent in Paperman). Next? Chris Pine in 2016. They never happened. But 28 years later, were in the mix. Plus the Lost star Matthew Fox… back in ’91 the choice was another Fox – Michael J Fox Furthermore, the actual writer-creator (with artist Harry Lampart) of the three scarlet speedsters was yet another Fox – Gardner Fox, 1911-1986. (What? Oh no, the fourth Flash, Barry’s grandson, Bart, didn’t arrive until 2006). Released in 2023.

Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 18

WELCOME

to the films the stars did not make. The movies that never were. The most definitive collation of casting stories. Check up on all the films - of yesterday, today and tomorrow - that your favourite stars never made... A cast of thousands - 8,063 actors - to click on... More than 40 years in the making! And 2,777,633 words of spirited text.

The ultimate in movie trivia ... Better! Exactly the kind of history that Hollywood deserves. Back to front. Upside-down. Inside out. Full of flashbacks, close-ups, tracking shots (and, alas some badly edited sequences - sorry about that!) forming a fascinating, new and often bizarre flip-side perspective on your treasured movies and stars

HE SAID

“They’re doing stuff, but not with me. I’m not doing any more.” – Adam Driver on no more Kylo Ren/Ben Solo ... Or is it that there will be no more Star Wars?

“I’ve been acting for 42 years and then you make one cocktail…” – Stanley Tucci on his new fame as a TV food and cookery expert.

"The point is it's very hard work and you have to really want to do it. It has to be something that you're burning to say." – Martin Scorsese on directing at 80 and thinking “possibly only one more”.

“Whether you are a competent actor, or an artist, is incidental. The main business is: you’re product. I had a hard time steadying myself against that stuff.” – Robert Redford.

“I’ve never done the same thing twice and how many people can say that?” – Tom Hanks… forgetting his two successive Oscars.

“I was so excited when I got the script for Silent Night. There’s no dialogue in the entire movie! I thought this would be very good for me because it lets me use my gifts for telling a story visually. – John Woo on his Hollywood comeback at 77.

“I’ve gotta be nice about Marvel movies, because I named myself after a Stan Lee character named Luke Cage. What am I going to do, put Marvel movies down? Stan Lee is my surrealistic father.” – Nic Cage.

“The man who invented mornings was no Christian.” – Peter O’Toole.

“The moustache did the acting.” – Anthony Hopkins on Howards End.

“It’s very difficult to get 100 million people to watch anything,” – writer-director Joe Russo.

“I gave him a little part in Looper, where he got to be shot in the face by Bruce Willis. He was just so overjoyed… like a little kid.” – director Rian Johnson on his father.

“I'm not an actor - and I've got 64 films to prove it!” – Victor Mature.

“If you cast it right, you don’t have to tell the actors what to do.” – John Huston.

CCC CLIPS

>> Name Game. James Spader really started something with his Blacklist series. He played – remember? – Reddington. And now we have Austin Butler and, Emma Stone are in making Eddington… and newbie Glenn Powell is Huntingdon, his tenth gig since Top Gun: Maverick. Perhaps it’s time to re-issue Carrington… with, among others, Steven Waddington!

>> Christopher Nolan says “No, sadly no – no truth to those rumours.” About making the next Bond. So, no Cillian Murphy as Jimbo, then?

>> Rolling Stone. Those Poor Things, Emma Stone and Willem Dafoe, are – naturally – in the next release of their Greek director Yorgos Lanthimos. It’s Emma’s third Yorgos collaboration. Most likely she’ll be in his next one, too, a re-make of the South Korean hit, Save the Green Planet. That was a comedy. But one can never categorise a Lanthimos experience. After all this one was first titled… And.

>> Taylor Swift’s guy, US football superstar Travis Kelce, is making moves on movies. To be as famous as Dwayne Johnson. Although people are now beginning to ask: Dwyane Whosis?

>>Brandon Routh was Superman back in the day. Today he’s in…Ick.

>> A star sure was born! Lady Gaga now getting $10million for Joker 2…

>> Sean Ono Lennon says Emma Stone should play his dad. Now there’s a thought. After all, Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan…

>> Sly Stallone has come this far without bothering with serial killers but that’s what he’s chasing in The Epiphany. He plays a retiring cop - what else at 78?

>> Thirty years after the first, Neve Campbell returns in Scream 7. She refused #6 over a money row…

>> Beatles director Sam Mendes made Skyfall and Spectre and another actor who has played John Lennon, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, might yet be the next 007…

>> Ryan Gosling tipped to be join the Marvelverse. (They need him more than he them). Henry Cavill may follow – so definitely no Bond then. Not after Argylle. If anyone witnessed that accident, could they call the appropriate authorities.

>> Will Smith comes back (or so he hopes) in an almost suicide squad blasting drug dealers in Sugar Bandits… while Colin Farrell settles for just Sugar – back to his usual smoothie looks after The Penguin…

>> White Lotus 3 resurrects Parker Posey, Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Charlotte Le Bon, Scott Glenn and introduces Patrick Schwarzenegger. But which one is going to flash…something?

CHAMPION'S LEAGUE

The battle for the top spot between Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson has – I think – come to an end. Recently, we‘ve seen Marlon leading Jack by one or two movies – and then, almost immediately, vice-versa. The gap is much wider now between the former Mulholland Drive neighbours. Latest research dug up more titles for Jack - Mr Mom, A Christmas Story, Striptease, The Bicentennial Man, Expend4bles – so that he is now safe (?) at the top of league with 177 films he chose not to make compared to Brando’s 172. But you know - you never know…

(The full list of their huge lists of bypassed films are not on their pages for now - one of the hassles being tackled in our - yes, very slow! – restructuring).

Marlon Brando – 177
Jack Nicholson – 172
Paul Newman – 160
Cary Grant – 150
Robert De Niro – 140
Tom Cruise – 135
Dustin Hoffman – 126
Mel Gibson – 118
Sean Connery, Al Pacino – 117

Highest Brit remains, as always, Sir Sean at 117… followed by Laurence OIivier, 93; Richard Burton, 87; Peter O’Toole, 79; Elizabeth Taylor, 73; Peter Sellers, 72; Dirk Bogarde and James Mason, 68; Olivia De Havilland, 58; Vivien Leigh and Gary Oldman, 57.

Highest lady is Bette Davis, 97; Jodie Foster, 84; Michelle Pfeiffer, 81; Katharine Hepburn, 79; Julie Christie, 76; Meryl Streep, 75; Elizabeth Taylor, 73; Nicole Kidman, 72: Jane Fonda, 70; Julia Roberts, 68.

Younger Brigade: Johnny Depp 108; Leo, 75; Jim Carrey, 70; Madonna, 62; Natalie Portman, 57; Aishawarya Rai Bachchan, 40; Bridget Fonda, 36: Scarlett Johansson, Angelina Jolie, Uma Thurman, 35; Jake Gyllenhall, 33: Ben Affleck, 31.

(You'll find the full list at Champions in the Main Menu)

A BOND MISS

Is Léa Seydoux now a spy…or, to be more polite, a talent scout for Eon Productions? 007’s girl in both Spectre and No Time to Die appears to assisting the (rather quiet) search for the next Jimbo. In La bête (The Beast), one of her many new French films, Léa co-stars with Hammersmith’s George MacKay - Sam Mendes’ find for 1917. He learned French for the film, so this may not be his last Paris booking.

As Gabrielle and Louis, they work extremely well together as star-crossed lovers in three time-lines: 1904, 1914 and 2044. And he looks the business in his retro tuxedo. ‘Twould be fascinating to cast an eye over her report for Barbara Broccoli’s eyes only. On verra as Léa (and now even George) would say. We’ll see.

SHE SAID

“You need your parents to set boundaries and hold you accountable and keep you away from, like, weird people.” – Scarlett Johansson on surviving as a child actor.

“I was so deeply in love with Bella, it terrified me not to live up to her as a character. I felt like I was failing her in the first week, and failing Yorgos [Lanthimos]. ). It was just difficult. I could talk to him about it, but I couldn’t talk to her about it. “ – Emma Stone on making Poor Things, leading to her second Oscar.

“Everything was so beautiful up on that screen. That make-believe world was much more pleasant than anything I was experiencing. I didn’t like reality. I wanted to be in the movies, even though I knew I didn’t look like the other women on the screen. My mother said, ‘you better learn to type,’ but I didn’t listen. Somehow, some way, thank you God, it all came true.” – Barbra Streisand, receiving lifetime achievement honour from the Screen Actors Guild.

“If I arrive at a moment in the history of cinema where I am legally obliged to have some kind of police on my set telling me what I’m allowed to do, I would rather stop filming sex scenes completely.” – French director Mia Hansen-Løve.

“I’m not one to sit around doin’ nothin’, I would never retire, I’ll just hopefully drop dead in the middle of a song onstage, someday, hopefully one I’ve written.” – Dolly Parton.

“Playing it safe doesn’t necessarily get you anywhere. You have to take chances. especially if you’re a black woman. You have no choice.” – Halle Berry.

“The more famous an actress becomes, the less she's allowed to eat.” – Lana Turner.

“I don’t do T&A very well because I haven’t got much of either.” – Tea Leoni.

“I was an idiot in terms of career-building, but I had a great time.” – Sally Kellerman.

“As you get older, you realise your parents aren't these superheroes. They're actually people.” – Rumer Willis, daughter of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore.

“Everybody thought I was crazy. And by the way, I thought I was crazy.” – Jennifer Lopez on spending $20m of her own money on making This Is Me … Now: A Love Story.

“It’s dangerous to repeat performances. It becomes the sole thing on your gravestone.” – Helen Mirren on playing The Queen in The Queen and on stage in The Audience.

“I think I was offered every Marilyn Monroe script ever. I was like: Is this the end of the road creatively?’” – Scarlett Johansson on surviving as a star.

WAIT & SEE...

This is such a busy year for movies that various releases have been postponed until 2025… Captain America: Brave New World, Bong Joon-ho’s Mickey 17, Games of Thrones spin-off The Hedge Knight (not about a gardener), Ke Huy Quan’s actioner With Love, John Wick’s spin-off, Ballerina, Fast X :part 2, Avatar 3, Jurassic World 4, Black Mirror 7, Mission: Impossible 8, Fantastic Four, Superman and the dreaded Michael bio – more like horror film, surely. Oh and no The Batman 2 or Harry P TV series until 2026.