Chris Pine had $400 worth of overdraft fees before scoring 'earth-shattering' 'Princess Diaries' check

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In 2002, Chris Pine couldn't say he was living paycheck to paycheck; that would require an income. 

The "Star Trek" actor admitted his bank account was overdrawn until things started to change when he began booking commercials for Hardee's and Heineken and having guest appearances on shows like "ER" 

"I started booking these things back to back in this very short span of time and then I got ‘Princess Diaries 2: [Royal Engagement]’ and that was – I started working," he recounted on the "Sunday Sitdown With Willie Geist" podcast.

CHRIS PINE CUT HIS HAIR AFTER HE WAS TOLD HE LOOKED LIKE 'RACHEL FROM "FRIENDS"': 'I COULDN'T UNHEAR IT'

Chris Pine, pictured here in 2004, the same year "Princes Diaries 2: Royal Engagement" premiered. (Jesse Grant/WireImage)

The sequel to the wildly popular 2001 flick "The Princess Diaries," starring Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews, Pine was brought in to play a love interest of Hathaway's.

"I was driving on the freeway and I was in my 1972 BMW… that I'd had since I was 16," he remembered of his circumstances at the time. "It had no air conditioning. It was the height of summer and I was getting off at Magnolia. I was on my little Verizon tiny little flip phone, and I got a call from my agents that I booked the job."  

Chris Pine says the check he earned from "The Princess Diaries 2" was "earth-shattering" at the time. (Entertainment Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo)

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"I pulled over onto the side of the freeway and they said, ‘You’re getting paid $65,000,’ and it was like they had just told me I’d made $50 million. It was absolutely earth-shattering."

Pine explained that at this time, things were looking bleak.

"I had an overdraft in my bank account, it was like $400 over. I was gonna have to ask my parents for money," he said, laughing. "And I got that $65,000 and I just remembered distinctly knowing in that moment that my life had changed somehow."

Chris Pine says he was paid $65,000 to appear in "The Princess Diaries 2" opposite Anne Hathaway. (Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images)

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"Even though [$65,000] at the end of the day turned out to be about $15,000," he recalled. "That lasted no time at all, and I owed my parents rent money. But that [was] a wild feeling. I’ll never forget that."

"I pulled over onto the side of the freeway and they said, ‘You’re getting paid $65,000,’ and it was like they had just told me I’d made $50 million. It was absolutely earth-shattering."

— Chris Pine on landing "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement"

Chris Pine continues to act today. (Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images)

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While Pine is still acting, he also recently made his directorial debut with "Poolman." It premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival. The movie, which Pine also stars in, will be released on May 10 in the United States.

Caroline Thayer is an entertainment writer for Fox News Digital. Follow Caroline Thayer on Twitter at @carolinejthayer. Story tips can be sent to caroline.thayer@fox.com.