Similar to many other Hollywood biggies, Chris Pine too comes from an acting background, whose parents were once associated with the showbiz. But while they did enjoy modest success, especially his dad, Robert Pine, it did little to change their life around financially, and the late ’80s would turn out to be the toughest period for the Pine family.
The Wonder Woman star, who has cemented himself as a major A-lister since rising to prominence in the late 2000s, recounted this dark period of his life, and how his parents combated the situation.
Chris Pine Recalled His Family’s Financial Struggle in the ‘80s
While Robert Pine enjoyed brief success for playing Sergeant Joseph Getraer in the ’70s sitcom CHiPs, acting alone didn’t pay his bills. Moreover, heading into the ’90s, things only kept deteriorating for the Pine family, and following the real estate crash in ’87, which is referred to as Black Monday, his family was “pretty much wiped my family out”.
This eventually pushed his mother, Gwynne Gilford, who had appeared in features such as Fade to Black and Beware! The Blob, to leave acting and continue her education. But amidst these harsh circumstances, Gilford would work multiple jobs while studying for her BA, to make ends meet. The Wonder Woman star further recounted that Robert Pine too would engage in other jobs apart from acting to keep the family afloat and pay for his wife and children’s education.
Appearing on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, Chris Pine recalled:
“Going into the ’80s it got rougher and rougher,” Chris said. “My dad, the work got sparser and sparser, and then the real estate crash in ’87 or ’88 pretty much wiped my family out. Then it was some really rough years, and then my mom went back to school. I have so much respect for what she did. She went back to UCLA and got her BA. She went back and got her Master’s at Antioch.” He continued, “[Robert] was doing other jobs to try to make ends meet. So there was a period of time when it was really rough,”
But despite having experienced the inconstant nature of showbiz firsthand, when Pine started to take an interest in acting, his parents were there to support him.
Robert Pine Supported Chris Pine’s Decision of Pursuing Acting
For Chris Pine, it wasn’t until he started trying out for a play in college that he finally started to take an interest in acting, as he had only performed in a one-act play in his high school up to that point.
But despite having little experience in the field, his parents encouraged the Hell or High Water star to pursue acting after witnessing his performance in the college play.
Robert Pine recalled:
“My wife and I went up to see it, and within five minutes we’re going, ‘Holy, he’s really good.’ And then he did about four or five plays up there, all wonderful. And then he said afterward, ‘I think maybe I’d like to try this.’ I said, ‘Go for it.’ “
Thanks to the support from his loved ones, it didn’t take Pine long to climb the ladders to the top, as after four years of making his feature debut, he would rise to prominence, thanks to Star Trek.
