Chris Pine

Christopher Whitelaw "Chris" Pine is an American actor best known for his role as James T. Kirk in 2009's 'Star Trek' directed by JJ Abrams.

Born on 26th August 1980 in Los Angeles, California, to parents Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford, Chris was born into a showbusiness family. Both his mother and father were actors, with his father perhaps best known for his role as Sgt. Joseph Getraer in the TV series 'CHiPs' from 1977 to 1983. Gwynne made a couple of appearances in the series as his character's wife, and also had roles in 'The Waverly Wonders' and 'A New Kind of Family', before becoming a practicing psychotherapist. Chris's older sister, Katherine, also made minor appearances in several TV programmes. Even his maternal grandparents were part of the 'Hollywood set' - Anne Gwynne, a 1940s actress, and Max M. Gilford, an attorney with many famous clients.

In 1998, Pine went on to study at the University of California, Berkeley, spending part of his degree course abroad studying English at the University of Leeds in England for one year. In 2002 he graduated, receiving a bachelor's degree in English. After graduating, he then went on to study at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

Pine made his acting debut in 2003, in an episode of 'ER' titled 'A Thousand Cranes'; following this up in the same year with minor roles in episodes of 'The Guardian' and 'CSI: Miami'. In 2004, Chris made his feature-film debut when he appeared in 'The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement' as one of Anne Hathaway's love interests, Nicholas Devereaux. The film went on to do relatively well at the box office, despite a lukewarm critical reception, with audiences responding warmly to Pine's character. In 2005, he appeared in an episode of the darkly humourous television series 'Six Feet Under', as well as in independent film 'Confession', that was subsequently released straight-to-video.

In 2006, Pine appeared in the well-received made-for-television film 'Surrender Dorothy', starring Diane Keaton as a mother struggling to cope with the death of her daughter. The role earned him further feature film work, playing Jake Hardin in 'Just My Luck', a romantic comedy with Lindsay Lohan; as Danny in the comedy 'Blind Dating'; and as Darwin Tremor in the action film 'Smokin' Aces' alongside Ryan Reynolds and Ray Liotta. In 2007, Pine turned down the chance to appear in a film adaptation of 'White Jazz', a sequel to the 1997 film 'L.A. Confidential', in order to accept the part of James T. Kirk in the 2009 film 'Star Trek'.

Before production on 'Star Trek' began, Pine starred in the 2008 film 'Bottle Shock' as real-life Napa Valley vintner Bo Barrett, alongside well-known actors Alan Rickman and Bill Pullman. With the eventual release of 'Star Trek' in May 2009, Pine's career took a dramatic upward turn, with the film taking over $380 million at the box office. Audiences and critics alike were wowed by his turn as James T. Kirk, with US Weekly magazine even going so far as to call him "the next Harrison Ford". He is scheduled to reprise his role as the captain of the Enterprise for 'Star Trek 2', due to be released sometime in 2011.

Pine recently completed work on the independent film 'Small Town Saturday Night' in which he stars as Rhett Ryan. He is also in talks to star in the action film 'Unstoppable', directed by Tony Scott, with production set to begin in the Fall of 2009.

Height: 6'1" (1.85m)

His nicknames includes Peenè, Pinewood and Piney.

He is the cousin of William Eliscu, a noted graphic designer who has worked on many prestigious movie productions, including 'In Her Shoes', 'Pineapple Express' and 'Valkyrie'.

Chris was ranked at #27 on Entertainment Weekly's feature '30 Under 30', a listing of the most promising new actors.

Was listed as one of Variety magazine's Top Ten Actors to Watch in 2008, before he had even appeared in 'Star Trek' - the role that brought him widespread recognition.

He was seriously considered for the lead role of Sam Flynn in 'Tron 2.0', but was replaced by Garrett Hedlund.

Beat Mike Vogel for the role of James T. Kirk in 'Star Trek' (2009).

He is of part Jewish ancestry on his mother's side, and has stated in an interview that he is "probably agnostic".

After the success of 'Star Trek', Pine was rumored to be the lead man in the upcoming DC Comics adaptation 'The Green Lantern', but eventually lost the role to Ryan Reynolds, his former co-star in 'Smokin' Aces'.

He made a brief appearance on an episode of 'Saturday Night Live' alongside his 'Star Trek' co-stars Zachary Quinto and Leonard Nimoy in May 2009.

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Penny B. Dreadful