Long before worldwide fame as Kirk in Star Trek and Steve Trevor in Wonder Woman, Chris Pine faced off with an apocalyptic virus in Carriers. Born in Los Angeles, California in 1980, Pine began acting on TV in 2003, appearing in guest roles on shows like ER and CSI: Miami. In the next few years, Pine would appear in films like The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, Just My Luck, and Smokin' Aces. It wasn't until Pine took over the iconic role of Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams' 2009 reboot of Star Trek that his career truly launched though.
Pine would return as Kirk for 2013 sequel Star Trek Into Darkness and 2016's Star Trek Beyond, although his future with the Star Trek franchise is uncertain. In 2014, Pine also starred in Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit, which failed to launch a new Jack Ryan film franchise, leading the property to eventually head to Amazon Prime. Most recently, Pine played Diana's heroic love interest Steve Trevor in 2017's Wonder Woman film, and will (somehow) return for 2020's Wonder Woman 1984, despite Steve having died in the original.
Pine hasn't spent any time in the horror genre since Star Trek made him a household name, but the same year he first played Captain Kirk, Pine also appeared in Carriers, written and directed by brothers Alex and David Pastor.
Before Stardom, Chris Pine Faced an Apocalyptic Virus In Carriers
First off, it's important to note that Carriers' September 2009 U.S. release was no coincidence. The virus-based horror film had been finished since 2006, but had been sitting on a shelf ever since. Following Star Trek's success in the summer of 2009, Paramount stepped up to distribute Carriers, clearly hoping to capitalize on Pine's newfound fame. It's not entirely clear why Carriers sat as long as it did, as reviews ended up being mostly positive, although its limited theatrical run shortly followed by a DVD release has ensured an existence mostly spent in obscurity.
In Carriers, a highly contagious, highly deadly plague has killed off most of humanity, in a scenario reminiscent of Stephen King's classic The Stand, albeit without the supernatural elements. The story centers on a quartet of survivors, Brian (Pine), his brother Danny (Lou Taylor Pucci), Brian's girlfriend Bobby (Piper Perabo). and Danny's friend Kate (Emily VanCamp). Due to Carriers' obscurity, further specifics won't be revealed here, in case anyone reading this is interested in checking out the film. Suffice to say that members of the group become infected, and Pine and company are forced to make extremely hard choices.