Chris Pine is a Los Angeles native through and through. Pine’s best movies, like the Star Trek series, where he played Kirk, and Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, in which he portrayed a smooth-talking bard, have proven to tinseltown that he’s great leading man material. However, even though LA is his home, he still admits that he has some major frustrations with it.
Playing Nicholas in The Princess Diaries 2 was life-changing for Chris Pine as it helped establish him as a high-profile Hollywood actor, and it opened up the door for more big roles. However, not every aspiring actor in Hollywood is so lucky. When The Finest Hours actor spoke to People, he admitted the type of people he grew up with in Hollywood:
I saw the highs and lows of the industry. And I grew up around people that were living the dream and people that desperately wanted to be in the dream.
Becoming an actor is not an easy path. Sure, living in The City of Angels can be beneficial, as it’s easy to travel from place to place for auditions and it is the home of many in the industry. But, it’s not only hard to make break through in Hollywood, and that makes some desperate. He’s not even mentioning it’s expensive to do so, too.
Pine’s comedy-mystery film Poolman represented the Hollywood the actor grew up in, with his characters being Hollywood hopefuls who didn’t have the best luck. Pine’s pool cleaner character presented himself as an underdog who took it upon himself to investigate a shady business deal by a corrupt politician and a land developer which exposed a hidden truth regarding the inner workings of LA.
In real life, the Into the Woods actor says he is not leaving Los Angeles anytime soon, but he still has his frustrations over his hometown:
The fact that we don’t have above-ground public transportation, that the red cars were ripped out, that we don’t really have a deep appreciation for some of the fabulous architecture that we have here, that we’re building buildings right now that I feel like are built for practicality more than they are in the spirit of beauty. That disappoints me, but it is my home.
To note, plenty of super successful actors have left LA over the years. For example, Mark Wahlberg left Hollywood for Las Vegas as living in the home of the entertainment industry only helped him gain a couple of movie roles. Celebs like Matthew McConaughey and James Van Der Beek also left LA to live quieter lives with their families and be away from the hustle and bustle. That doesn’t sound like what Pine has planned, but given his comments, it’s easy to see why other stars may have felt the need for changes.
Despite Poolman not hitting well with the critics and Dungeons and Dragons having a not-so-great box office run, Hollywood is still treating the actor well. Pine just voiced King Magnifico in Disney’s Wish, and he’s said he’s open to returning for sequels of Star Trek and D&D, if those ever come to fruition. With plenty of 2025 movie releases coming and the luck Pine has had in this city and his ultimate love he has for it, I doubt he’ll be amongst those leaving.
Not everyone will be 100% satisfied with where they live and the choices said place makes. But at the end of the day, like Chris Pine says, it’s still “home,” and when it’s home we embrace both highs and lows.