Chris Pine was a solid acting name when he landed the role of James T. Kirk in the 2009 Star Trek reboot film. He had been in the Princess Diaries sequel, and featured in Smoking Aces while appearing on ER, CSI: Miami, and Six Feet Under. Still, most people knew him for one of two things; Princess Diaries 2 and Smoking Aces. Had things gone a little differently, however, Pine may have been a well-known name heading into 2009.
According to Pine, he had a shot at landing the lead role of Ryan Atwood in the early 2000s Fox teen soap opera, The OC. Pine was going up against Ben McKenzie for the role of Ryan Atwood, the series lead character, but lost out on the role due to an acne issue had at the time.
The role would've been huge for Pine, as the show did launch several huge careers from its humble beginnings, but Pine isn't mad he lost the part. He's mad that people keep pointing out his acne issues. Speaking on the Happy Sad Confused podcast (via Deadline), Pine spoke about the acne issues, saying
""It’s no fun having bad skin. It’s no fun going to auditions when you have bad skin. It was one of the most traumatic points of my life, but it is my story.”"
But he took issue with one man, Patrick Rush, who was the person who originally revealed the story of Pine's skin issues. Rush was quoted in Welcome to the O.C.: The Oral History, as describing how bad it was at the time for Pine and even empathizing with the actor. That still didn't sit well with Pine who said;
""The man didn’t have to talk about it.""
While Pine may not like his history being brought up, especially when it may have been a bit embarrassing and well over 20 years ago, what should be mentioned is that Pine wouldn't have done well on the show. Pine can act, we've all seen that but not every actor is great for every role. The role of Ryan Atwood was one that was subdued, and even mopey. He was an angsty teen and McKenzie nailed it.
Pine is, almost to his determint, too charismatic at times. He's very likable and so it's hard to see him in roles where he's more subdued. He's a fantastic Kirk, but he wouldn't have brought the same energy as McKenzie did. We're glad things worked out the way they did.