WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Actor Chris Pine, known for playing Captain Kirk in the “Star Trek” movies, pleaded guilty Monday in a New Zealand court to a charge of drunken driving.
The 33-year-old American was fined $79 and had his New Zealand driver’s license suspended for six months during a hearing at the Ashburton District Court.
Police pulled over Pine early on March 1 after he had attended a party to mark the end of filming on the movie “Z for Zachariah,” due for release next year. Fairfax Media reported that Pine told police he had consumed four vodka drinks.
Police told the court a blood test found Pine’s blood-alcohol level was 0.11 percent; New Zealand’s legal limit is 0.08 percent.
During the hearing, Pine’s attorney, Marilyn Gilchrist, told the judge that Pine acknowledged he’d made the wrong decision to drive that night. Gilchrist said her client had suffered emotionally and professionally and that the negative publicity had put his acting contracts in jeopardy.
After he left the courtroom, Pine stopped to sign a couple of autographs for fans who had gathered outside.
Much of the filming of “Z for Zachariah” took place on the South Island’s Banks Peninsula.
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