dear you,
Every so often, you find yourself asking each other, "Who's your favorite Chris?" And thankfully, between the three of us, we all called dibs on a different one. Haha! Not that we wouldn't have shared if we picked the same Chris, but it's just good to know that there are enough Chrises for everyone to enjoy.
From setting standards when it comes to partners or simply just enjoying their brilliance on the big (and small) screen, we profess our love for each Chris in this month's newsletter. We hope that it lets you indulge in your own Chris crush, too.
We've all swooned in varying degrees over each Chris—really, who hasn't?—so we want to know, who's yours?
love,
chinggay, macy, and patty
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The Pine Nut Diaries
I have had my share of embarrassing celebrity (and non-celebrity) crushes, but I will never be embarrassed about Chris Pine. Unlike many who joined the Pine party after Star Trek, This Means War, or Wonder Woman, I was an early adopter. I am never not going to gloat about this.
I saw the potential in Chris Pine the minute Lord Nicholas Deveraux, heir to the crown of Genovia, walk onscreen—button down shirt, cuff links, poofy hair, and all. It was 2004 and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement had just been released. Shonda Rhimes was on the rise and thank god for her star power script writing, she made Chris Pine shine as the villain/love interest/royal hottie with an impossible-to-pin-down accent.
I spent my 20s trailing his blockbusters in the theaters, dragging my best friend with me. There was Blind Dating, which I watched in Robinsons Galleria (he played—you guessed it—a blind man). There was Just My Luck with pre-meltdown LiLo. And there was Bottle Shock, which I had to force myself to get through because Chris Pine with hippie long hair was pretty difficult to digest. It almost dissuaded me from my commitment to watching him in all the things, but it was a good movie, so, YAY.
It was in Hong Kong in 2009 when I first saw a poster for Star Trek. Chris Pine’s giant mug was staring down at me somewhere in Central. I remember this exact moment because I actually have a photo with the poster (I took another one when the posters came out in Manila too). I was not and am not a Trekkie by any stretch of the imagination, but OMG, was I ready to sit through my most-detested-movie-genre-of-all-time for the love of Captain Handsome. I watched the premiere in an IMAX along with what looked like the Philippine Confederation of Trekkies—they were all in costume.
After Star Trek came out, I knew the inevitable would happen—it was time to “share” my Chris crush with the rest of the world. He scored role after role after role since, and as the other Chrises came into the MCU and dominated the headlines, he kind of slunk back a little and chose some offbeat projects. As a fan of musicals, I put his Into the Woods playlist on repeat. A short while after that, his duet with Barbra-freaking-Streisand came out, too (yes—the man sings). I remember doing a double take on a flight where I didn’t have my glasses on but could swear that I could see 1950s Chris Pine playing on the screen of someone who sat in front of me—yup, that was him working the Coast Guard (so brave!) in The Finest Hours. I never thought I’d appreciate cowboy movies, but Hell or High Water deserved all the Oscar nominations it got, too.
While I see the appeal of Hemsworth, would have appreciated Pratt’s funny guy charisma except he fell from grace most recently and I don’t think I can recover from that, get that Evans is good-looking and whatever (lol)… and just in case you count him too, Messina is a great dancer… I choose Pine for his low-key charm, his ability to make fun of himself (Wet Hot American Summer), his thick eyebrows and blue green with glitzy gold eyes (this is an actual Crayola color), his now-salt-and-pepper beard, his voice, and how he has remained consistent and cool since the beginning.
PS: If you ever watch a movie with a Chris cameo in the cinema and hear a shriek from somewhere in the audience, that would be me. (Hello to everyone who saw Batman v Superman and heard an audible gasp when Steve Trevor’s photo came onscreen).
—C.
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The Perfect Chris
If I could dream up the ideal partner, the list of qualities wouldn’t be that long. In fact, my only non-negotiable is this: someone who’s committed to taking care of me. Of course, there are the obvious notes on physical attributes (a nice nose, kind eyes) and baseline requirements (does not have the propensity to cheat and won’t lie to my face). But in the end, I just want someone who can make me laugh uncontrollably when I’m having a shitty day and feed me my favorite things when I’m curled up into a ball, crying.
Now, I’m not saying my favorite Chris is all this and more. After all, what do I know apart from the things I read online and watch on YouTube when I’m binging videos from his press tours? But from this minuscule information, I can already gather that this Chris might just be all that and more. Can you just imagine what he’s like in real life?
He’s constantly pictured as a dutiful husband to his wife, who’s always by his side on the red carpet. He’s a dad who will dance to Miley Cyrus’s “Wrecking Ball” with his children. He’s someone who gets excited about winning first place at a dad race at his daughter’s school field day. If you forget just for a second that he’s an A-list celebrity, he’s just a regular guy who can laugh at himself and has no problem hamming it up for the camera.
In fact, he does just that for his 37.3M Instagram followers. Apart from the occasional promotional material, you’ll see bits and pieces of his life as a “normal” person. Him and his wife going on a date; him on a board surfing a wave in Australia—or teaching his son to surf; him skipping rope quite awkwardly with his kid; and many more precious moments that otherwise we wouldn’t be privy to since most Hollywood celebs are quite secretive about their personal lives. He’s that dude who doesn’t know how to double-tap his phone’s camera to switch lenses during an Instagram story, and isn’t even embarrassed to make it known to anyone who’s following him. But more than that, he’s someone who clearly loves his family and isn’t afraid to show it—no matter what the “rules” of showbiz are. Isn’t that refreshing?
Like I said, I don’t know anything about him except what he lets us see and read, but I think that’s enough to make him the perfect Chris for me. And maybe someday, I’ll find somebody who’s all that and more. But for now, I shall continue drinking the Chris Hemsworth Kool Aid until another Chris topples him from the top of my favorite Chris list. Who’s yours?
—M.
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A Call for a New Chris
Every Chris has a special place in my heart because you know I loved Chris Pine in Princess Diaries and Hemsworth who honestly would make anyone swoon without even opening his mouth—but then he does and he’s so incredibly charming it’s not even fair. Of course, there’s Evans, who honestly glowed up like crazy these past couple of years with his beard and wokeness and general nice guy attitude—and of course those abs. I could write paragraphs on him, but I won’t because I’m sure there’s a better one out there.
Then there’s Chris Messina. He isn’t even mentioned enough and I think it’s important I highlight my favorite Chris because I propose he replace the OTHER Chris that happens to be on the list. My Chris is somehow just lurking right underneath that list and definitely deserves a spot.
Two of the characters he’s played comes to mind because I think it demonstrates his range. From slightly asshole-ish Reese Lansing on The Newsroom, going head to head with both Jane Fonda (who plays his mom) and Sam Waterston who plays Charlie, the news division head, he does not shy away from these big guns and somehow shines alongside them. Sure, the character isn’t quite the charming guy, but he’s the dude you want to slap and he does it so well. On a show filled with holier-than-thou characters (it is a Sorkin show after all), Reese Lansing was a breath of fresh air to the faux perfection the other characters had. He had a job, he was going to get it done and he wasn’t going to be anyone’s here.
Then there’s Danny Castellano on The Mindy Project and if there’s anything that would convince you of why he belongs on this list, it would be this character. Danny is the biggest sweetheart. A secret softie who cherishes Mindy and endears her more despite her idiosyncrasies, Danny is one patient man. Chris Messina plays him so well—you have no idea how many times I’ve replayed his scenes—whether it’s giving Mindy a strip tease, or following her to the rooftop of the Empire State building. He’s just in it completely. The way he’d look at Mindy, so earnestly and so completely supportive of her and her many crazy plans, makes you wish that one day, you too will find your very own Danny Castellano, who lets you run your mouth about your life together because he loves you.
Let’s not forget there’s the double-match-up with the always amazing, Amy Adams—with Chris also showing range in Julie & Julia to Sharp Objects. If he’s good enough for Amy Adams, you bet he’s good enough for the Chris list.
Apart from his range, there’s also the fact that there’s not much you know about him. He’s not as active on social media—because he’s not part of any of the big franchises and all you get of him would be press he’d do for his shows—far less than any of the other Chrises.
Do I wish I knew more about him? For sure, but I guess part of his allure is the fact that I kind of make up and project all of the nice qualities of his characters on to his real life persona, no matter how unreal this may be. Still, I think he deserves a place in the Hall of Chrises and you can consider this my petition for that.
—P.
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