What was your reaction when you were first offered the role of Jack Ryan?
Well, I was offered it right after Star Trek and you have to imagine for someone like me, going from smaller films and then to Star Trek, to being offered Jack Ryan, of course, I was ecstatic. I took it in a heartbeat.
What was the biggest challenge?
We shot it really, really quickly. We didn't have a lot of money for a big budget studio film so this film was not what it could have been and we moved really fast and had to work within boundaries. Also, the fact that Jack Ryan is not as brash and loud as James Kirk, meant there was less for me to do as an actor.
But Jack Ryan is an iconic character played by some great actors. Did you feel a lot of pressure in making it your own?
Yes, there was much more pressure than Star Trek because in that franchise there are so many people involved like JJ Abrams and Zachary Quinto, but this is a lot more pressure because Jack Ryan is me. And the film is called Jack Ryan. I felt the pressure but it's also wonderful. So, God willing it works. If it doesn't, I will have to find another gig.
You are being touted by some as the new Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise. How do you feel about that?
Well, nowadays, "the American movie star" is a different landscape. I don't think I have done nearly enough or have enough under my belt to consider myself on that level, at all. There are a lot of great actors my age who are working and who I think have a shot to do some really great things. I consider myself lucky to be a part of that group, but I can't compare myself to those other actors.
Kevin Costner described you as a great leading man, not far from where he was many years ago and perfect for this role. Did he talk to you about that?
Well, yes. We talked about that a little. Actually, I think what he was saying is that because we are both around the same height; have brownish blonde hair, blue-eyed guys, that it fits a kind of physical build to take on that role. Unfortunately, they can't be Latino or African-American. So certainly that helps being of a certain look, but it takes a lot more to be able to do it and Kevin speaks to it very well; it's a nuanced art to be viewed as a movie star in these movie star vehicles. You have to be in front of the plot but you can't be too far ahead because you have to let the story hold focus and the bad guys hold focus as well.
Jack Ryan can't tell his fiancee what he does for a living. Do you think that relationship could work in real life?
No. I kept on asking Ken, "Can't he just tell his goddamn wife that he's in the CIA? Wouldn't you say, "Listen, sweetheart, I am not coming home, because check it out, I work in the CIA." I know I would do that. But I think it's that moment when he explains to her "I took a pledge," that tells you a lot about him.
How do you feel about that sentiment?
I always had to laugh at that line, but that's also the kind of wonderful naivete of Jack Ryan which is that he took that pledge, and it's kind of sweet. I wish our president and the people in power were like that about keeping their word. And that's kind of a great thing and true of what I think is redemptive about Jack as an American hero, is that in the chronology of Jack Ryan [in Clancy's books] he ends up being President. What a wonderful thing to have a man of such moral rectitude that he makes a pledge he will not break. I think that's pretty cool. Unfortunately, it's odd in today's age.
Previous movie Jack Ryans
Alex Baldwin - The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Harrison Ford - Patriot Games (1992), Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Ben Affleck - The Sum of All Fears (2002)
Who: Chris Pine
What: Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit
Where and when: Opens at cinemas today
- TimeOut
