The Stunning Transformation Of Chris Briney

A new generation of heartthrobs is officially on the rise. The biggest stars in this new group include the likes of Jacob Elordi, Nicholas Galitzine, Timothée Chalamet, and, of course, Christopher Briney. In 2022, Briney shot to fame with Amazon Prime's "The Summer I Turned Pretty." Based on the teen romance novels by Jenny Han, the series follows Belly, a teenage girl who is torn between two brothers. As Conrad, the gloomy elder brother, Briney quickly became one third of the biggest love triangle since the days of "Twilight" or "Vampire Diaries." 

But he soon made it clear that playing handsome teen love interests wasn't all he could do. That same year, he starred opposite Academy Award winner Ben Kinsley in the indie drama "Dalíland," proving he had dramatic chops, too. In 2024, Briney's star is only set to rise, as he's back with another teen heartthrob, playing the iconic role of Aaron Samuels in the musical remake of "Mean Girls." 

So, how did Briney become one of Gen Z's most-sought romantic leads? Here is the stunning transformation of Christopher Briney.

Before Christopher Briney embraced his love of the performing arts, he was all in on America's favorite pastime. "I was like, 'I don't want to sing. I don't want to act. I don't want to dance. I want to play baseball,'" he told InStyle. Briney played all the way through high school, obsessing over baseball movies like "Bull Durham" and "A League of Their Own." As he recalled to American Studies, he even had his sights set on making a university's team after high school. However, it wasn't meant to be. "I took a year off, and then I went back and I was terrible," he said.

Though Briney didn't end up playing baseball on the collegiate or professional level, his years of playing the game as a child stuck with him. And all of that proved useful when it was time to play Conrad in "The Summer I Turned Pretty." "It's weird because like I was raised in a very warm and emotionally vulnerable household with a father who is always encouraging me to like, feel emotions and cry if I need to cry and share your life," he said to 1883. "But then for some reason like society or playing too much baseball or for whatever reason, I still fell into those traps [of not being able to express emotions] when I was younger." Briney noted that these experiences helped him connect with the character of Conrad. 

After graduating from high school, Christopher Briney decided to keep giving the acting thing a try. However, his college experience proved to be a bit of a shock. "I think I just had a lot more to learn than I knew. At the time, coming out of high school, I sort of thought I was the s*** and then I was like, I'm really not the s***," said Briney to 1883, explaining that he auditioned for numerous acting programs and was rejected by almost all of them. As he put it, the experience "humbled" him. 

He had initially hoped to go to college in Los Angeles, but he ended up going to Pace University's new film and TV BFA acting course in New York. Luckily, it turned out to be the best possible option for him. "I met some of my dearest, dearest friends at college, I learned invaluable lessons," he said of the experience.

While he was in school, he also picked up shifts at Trader Joe's. As he told American Eagle, he worked at the grocery store for about a year. In a separate chat with InsideHook, he stated, "It was a super solid job, they give you some pretty fire t-shirts."

As Christopher Briney continued his studies in acting at university, he learned more and more about himself. During that time, he dug into his own mental health. As he put it to Boys By Girls, "There's always some sort of anxiety with me just always with people in general."

In his everyday life, Briney has had to learn how to grapple with anxiety and overwhelming dread. "A lot of it is running through negative scenarios in your head," he confessed to American Studies. "Before I enter a conversation I'll be like, 'Wow, this is gonna suck when they punch me in the face.'" He's also had to learn how to deal with the version of anxiety that hits when he's acting in a scene. "When you have lines, things can go wrong within that, but you know what you're signing up for... it's scary in a different way," he said. In his aforementioned chat with Boys By Girls, Briney shared that he sees a therapist.

If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.

After graduating from Pace University in 2020, Christopher Briney settled down in Brooklyn and jumped headfirst into the auditioning process. "I just fell in love with New York. I love the energy. It makes me feel creative. It makes me feel like I'm a part of something," he said in 1883. 

Although Briney landed his first job just one year after graduating, his first year out of college overlapped with the COVID-19 pandemic — and it certainly wasn't an easy time. As he told American Studies, he could barely afford his rent. On top of that, the pandemic meant that the industry was shutting down around him. He even found himself losing momentum and struggling to stay inspired. Nevertheless, he kept auditioning and working toward get a foot in the door. 

Briney's tenacity paid off. "I spent four years learning acting technique and how to live with yourself and how to accept failure," he said in 1883. "And then I was lucky enough to be auditioning for a year after I graduated and then even more lucky to book the things that I have."

Shortly after leaving Pace University, Christopher Briney landed his first professional role, and it was a big one. He was cast in Mary Harron's "Dalíland" as James, a young assistant to Salvador Dalí, who was played by acting titan Sir Ben Kingsley. As Harron told the Los Angeles Times, Briney was cast over a Zoom audition. "He had to be someone who had a certain youthful innocence but also wasn't a pushover," she said. "Someone who had certain strength inside, which Chris has as a person."

Briney traveled to Liverpool to shoot the film. The experience was nothing short of overwhelming. "The first week of shooting the movie, some nights I was curled up in a ball on the floor," he confessed to American Studies. "I really thought about running away." In fact, he was so nervous he was, as he recalled, "genuinely shaking through half of those scenes, thank God it was scene-appropriate."

Now, Briney looks back on the film with huge fondness. "The first project I ever did was an independent movie, I love it to death," he said in Boys By Girls.

As Christopher Briney's fame grew, he realized his own relationship with social media would never be the same. After being cast on "The Summer I Turned Pretty," he gained millions of followers on Instagram. As someone who wasn't really into social media as a teen, this sudden boost certainly took some getting used to. 

Even though Briney sees how social media can be "toxic," he still uses it from time to time. The way he sees it, having a social media presence is actually part of the job. "I don't love social media but it's sort of a necessary evil, I think," he told Boys By Girls. For one thing, it allows him to foster a connection with his fans. His plan? "I'm going to use it to promote the things I care about when I can and stay off it as much as I can," he said.

After three huge projects, Christopher Briney's career is certainly off to a flying start. As if he wasn't busy enough thanks to his movie career, he's also carved out time to attend runway shows for high-end designers like Dior and Louis Vuitton. "I got to go to some fashion week shows earlier in the year, and seeing that up close was a really powerful thing," he told InStyle. "It is such an art form."

So what's on the horizon for the talented young star? If he had his way, his next role would ask him to step out of his comfort zone a bit. "The idea of doing something completely wild and unhinged and different is so exciting to think about," he said in 1883, explaining that his characters so far had been very similar to his own personality. He added, "I'm always game for stuff like that." 

Briney's also hoping to create his own films and take them to film festivals. "I'm manifesting that right now," he said in Boys By Girls. "I'm hoping for positive things in general, that's all you can do." We think it's safe to say that Briney's future looks bright, and whatever he does next is sure to be so fetch.