If some actors enjoy the privileges of descending from families of acting royalty, Chris Pine reaped the lessons of the blue-collar version – his dad, mom and grandma were hardworking actors, if not red carpet regulars. And Pine wanted none of it. Fighter pilot, maybe; baseball player, sure; acting, not so much. But when the family trade eventually caught up with him, it caught up fast. What else are you going to do with an English major anyway, right? After some early theater work and less than a year of the requisite waiter gig, he started landing jobs and soon faced a career-defining choice: Play a homosexual, homicidal detective in James Ellroy’s White Jazz, or go be Captain Kirk in Star Trek? The decision wasn’t easy, but perhaps it was inevitable. Kenneth Branagh, who directed him in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, once compared him to Paul Newman, calling him “…the character actor in the leading man’s body.” But many projects in – from popcorn fair like The Princess Diaries 2, Smokin’ Aces and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit to critically acclaimed turns in Bottle Shock and plays like Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig, Farragut North and The Lieutenant of Inishmore – Pine still claims to have no idea what he’s doing…except having a good time.