LONDON - As a kid, Chris Pine used to be afraid of the bogeyman. Now he fights one on the big screen.
The 32-year-old American actor is taking on his first voice-over role as Jack Frost in the DreamWorks animated film "Rise of the Guardians." His winter wonderland character is asked to join Santa, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy - played by Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman and Isla Fisher - to defeat a bogeyman called Pitch (Jude Law).
Pine says the most magical part is getting to see his vocals combined with the animators' work.
"By the time you get to see it all put together, it's many, many months, even years down the road. I saw one version of it three months ago and was astounded by how unique the art looked," he told The Associated Press in an interview.
Pine took a break from being the latest actor to portray Tom Clancy's hero character Jack Ryan in London to talk about his own battles with the bogeyman.
AP: Try and describe this film ("Rise of the Guardians"). Is it a bit like "The Avengers"?
PINE: I guess so, it's like `Avengers' for kids. It's every character that you knew from growing up - from Santa Claus to Sandman to the Tooth Fairy to the Easter Bunny - all brought together as this fantastic crime-fighting team.
AP: Would you say they're myths or legends?
PINE: I would say they're legends ... these different legends that we've all known as children growing up, no matter where you are or where you live, all come together. It's a timeless story about belief and the power of the imagination.
AP: What's your voiceover outfit when you turn up to be Jack Frost?
PINE: (When) I used to go out for commercials, I always felt like a schmuck that I was on these awful auditions. And there would be these guys in sweat pants and mesh shorts that looked like they hadn't shaved in many months. They looked like they were having the time of their lives and they were always the voiceover artists. Comfort's the name of the game- sweat pants and sandals.
AP: Will this appeal to the kids in your family?
PINE: Probably this and what I called my big hair picture, `The Princess Diaries 2.' I'm really, really excited to show my nephew and all the kids in my life this film. For me growing up, Christmas time was always the most fantastic, exciting time of year, and you'd stay up until three in the morning. You'd hear the parents wrapping in the other room but you knew that also, maybe, they were in collusion with Santa Claus.
AP: When you were younger were you ever scared of the bogeyman?
PINE: I don't know any kid that's not afraid at some point going to bed with the lights off, totally. That's why they make nightlights. I guess it took me some time to get used to it.
AP: Can you put an age on that?
PINE: Twenty-four.
AP: So you can now sleep with the lights off?
PINE: Not really, but I'm getting there.
AP: What gives you nightmares?
PINE: Not a fan of spiders. I saw the movie `Arachnophobia' which was single-handedly rated in the top three worse choices of my life.
AP: You've been filming "Jack Ryan" - how's it been going? I've seen pictures of you in the papers throwing Keira Knightley in and out of cars.
PINE: I saw those guys with the huge telephoto lenses in the pouring rain, those poor guys (laughs)! They were getting drenched. I don't feel too much pity for them. It's a lot of fun and Keira's really lovely.
