The actor-director pulled up to the L.A. premiere of his new flick Wednesday night ... and, fans who haven't seen CP recently should cut themselves some slack if they didn't recognize him -- 'cause he's way hairier than we're used to seeing him look.

Check out the pics ... Pine's wearing a novelty t-shirt under a sandy blazer and jorts -- while a bushy gray beard and blond hair down to his chest make him look far less buttoned-up than we've seen in the past.

But, it appears Pine might have come dressed as his character ... 'cause pics from inside the event show Chris with a shorter 'do, making it seem like he made his entrance in a wig.

Either way, Chris' hair's definitely driven conversation over recent months and years ... he's gone from totally shaved to mullet to hair down his back -- shocking fans with each transformation.

FWIW ... it looks like CP raided the film's wardrobe for his ensemble, 'cause a scene about 30 seconds into the trailer shows Pine wearing the same outfit.

Basically, it looks like a genius marketing move on Pine's part ... drawing attention to himself by putting his character on display.

Pine's new flick sees him playing a pool cleaner caught up in political intrigue when a femme fatale recruits him to take down a corrupt politician. It costars Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, DeWanda Wise, Jennifer Jason Leigh and more.