Chris Pine channeled 'a '70s dirtbag rock-climbing hippie' for his new character

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Chris Pine’s directorial debut Poolman stars the Star Trek actor as, you guessed it, a poolman — and crafting the unforgettable look of the character was one of the most essential steps in the creative process.

In Entertainment Weekly’s Role Call video series, Pine tells Entertainment Weekly how he landed on the outlandish outfit that he sports during the movie. “I was in Joshua Tree, and I was trying to think about, like, ‘What does this guy look like?’ And I was standing in line for a coffee, and I saw this rock climber, and I was like, ‘That’s the guy,’” he says. "And he looked like this ‘70s dirtbag hippie, and I was like, ‘Ah, absolutely. Everything about this guy.’”

Pine says the entirety of the climber’s wardrobe felt right for the character. “The T-shirt, the shorts, these weird f---in’ boots with the weird socks…” he explains. “So that was the genesis of that, like a ‘70s dirtbag rock-climbing hippie.”

The Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves star also tells EW that he included additional outfits and accessories from other personal inspirations. “He wears Capezio dance shoes because I remember my sister always went to Capezio to get her ballet slippers, and somehow that seemed to make sense and make me laugh,” Pine says. “He has his own Jake Gittes detective suit. Jake Gittes is from Chinatown. I have this great floppy Japanese straw hat that I bought once and loved.”

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Pine says he put in a lot of research to play the titular poolman. “Learning about being a poolman was difficult,” he says, sarcastically. “It’s something I trained endlessly for. I lost weight, I gained weight, lived with my own poolman for months. It was worth it. Living with my poolman, training as a poolman, dancing as a poolman, kissing as a poolman, making love as a poolman. I learned that from my poolman,” he laughs.

The writer-director-star has been living with the idea for his movie for some five years, all starting with the movie title, the character's profession, and his name: Darren Barrenman. “It really made me giggle a lot. I kept on thinking about it, and it caromed in my brain, caromed in my brain, and then a year passed, and I’m still thinking about it," Pine says. "I had this idea of this guy who really takes pool cleaning seriously, like it’s tai-chi Bruce Lee stuff, like kung fu, water ninja. I had this whole idea of how he cleans the pool, and it’s like ballet.”

Poolman also stars Annette Bening, DeWanda Wise, Stephen Tobolowsky, Ariana DeBose, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Danny DeVito. The film hits theaters May 10.

Watch Chris Pine discuss his memories from Wonder Woman, The Princess Diaries 2, Star Trek, Hell or High Water, Unstoppable, and more in EW’s Role Call video, below.