Chris Pine is recalling his first big gig in Hollywood.
In a preview clip from the May 5 episode of Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist, Pine said his life “changed” when he booked the role of Nicholas Devereaux in the 2004 film, “The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement.”
“It was the height of summer and I was getting off at Magnolia. I was on my little Verizon tiny little flip phone, my silver one and I got a call from my agents that I booked the job,” he said. “I pulled over onto the side of the freeway and they said, ‘You’re getting paid $65,000,’ And it was like they had just told me I’d made $50 million. It was absolutely Earth-shattering.”
In the film, which was a sequel to 2001’s “The Princess Diaries” starring Anne Hathaway as Princess Mia, Pine played one of Mia’s suitors who eventually fell in love with her.
Pine says before landing that role, he was booked for a few commercials and read a couple of lines with Sally Field in “ER.” But, it wasn’t until he landed “The Princess Diaries 2″ that he felt like he actually “started working.”
“I got that $65,000 and I just remember distinctly knowing in that moment that my life had changed somehow, even though $60,000 at the end of the day turned out to be about $15,000,” he laughed.
“That lasted no time at all,” he continued, revealing that he had an overdraft of $400 in his bank account and had also thought about asking his parents for money prior to the call.
“And I owed my parents rent money. But that is a wild feeling. I’ll never forget that,” he added.
After “The Princess Diaries 2,” Pine went on to star in other notable such as 2009’s “Star Trek” and 2017’s “Wonder Woman.”