Chris Pine, one of the most charismatic actors in the entire global entertainment industry, was close to going broke once. Yes, you read it right. Despite being such a handsome young aspiring actor in his 20s, the Hollywood heartthrob would have nearly gone broke in the early 2000s. However, both his bank balance and his career were saved thanks to one fan-favorite fam-com.
The movie that seemingly changed his life overnight was none other than the Anne Hathaway-led sequel from 2004 to the original fan-beloved masterpiece from 2001, The Princess Diaries. In fact, Pine holds that one brilliant piece of work in such high regard that he claims that besides making him feel like he had actually started working, that’s also one movie he would “never forget”!
Chris Pine Feels The Princess Diaries 2 “Changed” His Life
Ever since Chris Pine began his career back in the early 2000s, fans have been met with nothing short of purely blissful performances from his end. But reaching that position and becoming such a renowned celebrity in the industry didn’t come easy to him.
This became evident from what the Wonder Woman actor shared during his recent appearance on the Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist (via TODAY), which included the fact that he was still driving his “1972 BMW that I’ve had since I was 16” and still had his “Verizon tiny, little flip phone” in 2002.
However, one day during that year “changed” his “life” after he scored the role of Prince Nicholas Devereaux in The Princess Diaries 2. As he shared in the interview, his agents informed him that day that he had “booked the job” while he was “driving on the freeway” in his old car.
But the best part was his reaction to the sum he was going to score from this gig. As Pine recalled:
“I pulled over onto the side of the freeway and they said, ‘You’re getting paid $65,000.’ And it was like they’d just told me I’d made $50 million.”
Back then, he was only working on commercials and bit parts at the most and was pretty much broke. In fact, according to what the Wish actor shared, at the time when he got the phone call, he “had an overdraft in my bank account. There was like $400 over.”
Needless to say, even the news of earning such a paycheck felt like he had won the lottery. As he said:
“It was absolutely earth-shattering. […] I got that [$65,000] and I just remember distinctly knowing at that moment that my life had changed somehow.”
Clearly, his life had changed because of that Anne Hathaway-led sequel to The Princess Diaries, as can be confirmed by his current net worth, which stands at $35 million, as per Celebrity Net Worth.
But what is truly heartwarming is that, even after coming so far over the years that passed, Pine claims he would never forget the 2004 masterpiece.
Chris Pine Says He’ll “Never Forget” The Princess Diaries 2
Continuing in the interview, the Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves actor also revealed how that massive of a paycheck actually “lasted no time at all” because he had to pay back his parents for all the money he owed them for rent and stuff.
Despite this, the film that made him feel like he had “actually started working” professionally as an actor will also forever remain the one he’ll never forget. As Pine said himself while talking about The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement:
“It’s so wild. It’s so wild, I’ll never forget that.”
Well, Chris Pine, you can continue to reminisce about that iconic sequel, and we’ll continue to reminisce about you as the gorgeous Prince Nicholas Devereaux!
You can watch The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement on Prime Video.
