Chris Pine: ‘I might be too sensitive for social media’

The actor talks about his personal heroes, growing up in Hollywood, social media and creativity as therapy.

The Finest Hours star Chris Pine wiill soon be back in action as Captain Kirk in Star Trek Beyond. Matt Sayles / Invision / AP Photo

With his pale blue eyes and ­leading-man good looks, Chris Pine is one of Hollywood’s rising stars – and for good reason.

He reprises his role as Captain Kirk for a third time in Star Trek Beyond, which was partly filmed in Dubai and will be released in July, and then will dip his toes into the world of superheroes, playing Steve Trevor alongside Gal Godot's Amazon warrior in DC's Wonder Woman, which is due for release in June next year.

But first, the 35-year-old is all at sea in The Finest Hours, which tells the true story of a 1952 rescue mission to save the crew of a ship caught in a hellish storm off the coast of Massachusetts. He plays coastguard captain Bernie Webber, who leads the rescue ­operation.

“He’s an atypical hero,” the type you wouldn’t “expect to step up and do heroic things”, says Pine.

“He was indeed a quiet man who spoke about the facts, God and his faith, which gave me an idea of who he was.

“He’s a complete beta, not alpha male. That’s what attracted me to the character. I had a great empathy for Bernie and wanted him to succeed.”

Personal heroes

“My parents [actors Robert Pine and Gwynne Gilford], certainly, but I think that in today’s age we need more people like Malala [Yousafzai, the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pakistani education campaigner]. She’s a warrior. To be able to experience what she did and not meet it with anger ... and use that and expand it in people’s lives to open new doors for women across the world, [and to be] that young and have that old of a soul, is just mind-blowing.”

Growing up in Hollywood

“I never got any specific advice from my parents, but I credit them for being supportive and having an open ear.”

Social media

“[It] can be a wonderful way to disseminate ­information.

“I might be too sensitive of a creature. I don’t want to hear what people think of me. I don’t want to hear if they don’t like my hair cut, I just don’t want to hear it.”

Creativity as therapy

“I love music and I love singing ... and I love writing about a lot of things that are happening and popping. I’ve been trying to have writing be a part of my life.

“You break down some barriers of creativity when you access this part of you.”