Chris Pine Explains Why Ballet Is His Favorite Form of Exercise

Chris Pine has found a new way of staying in shape, and it might not be what you'd expect. Speaking with People ahead of the release of his directorial debut, Poolman, Pine revealed that ballet is his favorite form of exercise.

"I love everything about it," Pine enthused of the art he’s been practicing for the last two years. "It's so hard. It's great for your body just from an aesthetic standpoint. It requires such tremendous strength."

Pine said that the type of workout ballet provides him is much stronger, and more thorough, than those he was doing before. "The core is the strength, and then your arms are supposed to be really light and delicate," he explained. "I just love the combination of the masculine and the feminine in that regard."

The Star Trek actor also revealed enjoys taking ballet classes conducted outside his native English because it adds an extra level of rigor. "They're speaking in French and telling you to do things, and if you haven't done it before, it's like geometry," Pine said. "It massages your brain."

Pine has been undergoing an exercise evolution for a number of years. Back in 2019, he told Men’s Journal that he had transitioned from weightlifting to clubbell workouts.

“Before this, I was doing pretty traditional weightlifting,” Pine said at the time. “It was so static, so controlled. You know, bench presses…it was so stiff. I started getting into this idea of movement and it led me to [trainer] Mark [Wildman], whose philosophy is about moving the body in different directions. This is more functional.”

Clearly, Pine has taken the philosophy to new heights. Perhaps as a way of perfecting his ballet method, the star also revealed to People that he’s now trying to learn French on Duolingo. “It’s not really a game, but it’s like one,” he said of the app. “I have Italian, French, Portuguese and Arabic. I’m better at French and Italian.”

Poolman arrives in cinemas on May 10.