Chris Pine boards an 'Unstoppable' train

Chris Pine shot to stardom last summer when he was cast as the young Captain Kirk in the blockbuster feature, "Star Trek." Now the 30 year-old actor stars in "Unstoppable," which opened No. 2 at U.S. box offices over the weekend with an estimated $23.5 million.

In the film, Pine plays a rookie train conductor whose first day on the job sees him paired with a veteran engineer, portrayed by Denzel Washington. When a runaway train carrying flammable material races uncontrollably toward a community at high speeds, the duo are the only ones who can stop it.

Pine sat down with Reuters to discuss the film, and his life post-'Star Trek.'

Q: This is a fast-paced film and not the first about runaway trains. What is it about men and trains?

A: "It's not just trains, but moving parts. And the complexity of a machine and how things work together to make it go. I remember liking cars at an early age. And garbage trucks and clocks. It's kinetic and its moving."

Q: What kind of research did you do to nail the technical jargon and to physically handle the trains?

A: "We studied a lot of audio tapes and video tapes. We went to a train yard and talked to engineers and conductors and people working there. We spent the day in the life of all those rail men. We shot the film on actual trains in actual yards, so we were around these guys all the time. If there were questions that arose at any time, we could easily talk to them."

Q: The film is inspired by real events. Did you meet your own character?

A: "Yes. I met Jesse Knowlton, the man whose life inspired my character, Will Coulson. He and his buddy Terry Forson, who was on train that day, came out to Los Angeles. I took them out. We had some drinks and talked about life and trains."

Q: Did you do your own stunts?

A: "A fair amount. The only time my stunt guy worked was when my character jumped from one moving vehicle to another."

Q: As someone who is born and bred in Los Angeles, how was it to shoot the film in Ohio and Pennsylvania?

A: "We shot in the winter last year in the rust belt. It's a part of America that's been hit really hard in the last 25 years by the loss of the steel industry. I had never seen that part of the country before. I saw a lot of poverty that I'd never seen before, but also a lot of wonderful, resilient people."

Q: "Star Trek" was a huge hit. How has your life changed?

A: "I have more opportunity, choice and the ability to cherry pick a bit more when it comes to roles. I've never had that before."

Q: This is your first project since "Star Trek," which came out nearly 18 months ago. Why wait so long?

A: "I didn't like anything. The beauty is that I had enough money stored away that I didn't have to work. I did theater instead. I did a play called 'Farragut North.' It was a great role, it didn't take up too much time, and it fit in perfectly with my life and my schedule."

Q: Do you consider yourself ambitious?

A: "I was always a hard worker. I've always had a really good work ethic. I've always been harder on myself than anybody else. But in terms of having a specific goal? The goal was always to just do well."