The concept of best and worst Hollywood Chris has been one that has been spoken about for years on the interwebs. Some of the actors involved have even spoken out on the topic, including Chris Pine sharing his “best” Chris thoughts and Chris Hemsworth joking about the debate on Chris Evans’ birthday. Now, it seems even random non-Chris actors are being asked about this phenomenon, and Outlander star Sam Heughan gave his own cheeky response on the topic recently.
As part of the press tour for Outlander Season 6 – which is bringing plenty of memorable moments to television, including that intimate birth scene – Sam Heughan spoke out about a range of topics, including being famous in public and some personal likes and dislikes. Among those topics, he was asked about his “favorite Hollywood Chris” and he had a pretty funny and surprising answer for InStyle:
Christina Aguilera.
From what I remember, Christina Aguilera’s big nickname phase was going by Xtina for a time, but that’s still a really great way to answer the question if you are Sam Heughan and not looking to spark a debate. At first, he also tried to deflect by saying “Hollywood curse,” but when that didn’t take the Aguilera “Chris” was touted instead.
It is a little bit wild that the great Chris debate was sparked in the first place, but I’m not sure it’s any more out there than the fact there are four Hollywood Chrises appearing in varying Marvel and DC films. Chris Hemsworth is Thor. Chris Evans is – or was – Captain America. Chris Pratt will next appear as Star-Lord as part of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Vol. 3 cast. Chris Pine, of course, is the lone DC wolf, appearing as Gal Gadot’s character’s love interest in both Wonder Woman films.
The fact those castings happened in the first place is likely why people latched onto the debate, and while Chris Pratt has kind of gotten the short end of that stick – oft cited as the “worst Chris” of the four superhero actors – it is kind of a fun topic to compare their varying roles. The good news for the Guardians of the Galaxy actor in particular is that Pratt’s been defended as being a great Chris by his co-workers James Gunn and Mark Ruffalo and even his brother-and-law. The latter, Patrick Schwarzenegger, referred to Twitter as a “junkyard” after the social media site sparked the debate.
As for Sam Heughan, how someone thought to rope him into this debate is anyone’s guess, but my kudos to the actor for handling the question seamlessly and amusingly. At least that should be one topic he shouldn’t be asked out of left field again…
If you’d like to see Sam Heughan more on topic, you can catch new episodes of Outlander on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET, only on Starz.