"I think it gets a little harder as you find more success. As success happens, you have to figure out this question of 'What I am going to do next that stands out?' Because then you get seen as 'this thing,' which is a part of you. But it's not really you."
Sebastian Stan (born August 13, 1982) is a Romanian-born American actor.
He moved from his native Constanța, Romania, to Vienna, Austria at the age of 8, and from there to New York, USA at the age of 12. Starting out in with roles in Gossip Girl and cult-movie The Covenant, Stan is nowadays best known for his role as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Roles:
- Law & Order (2003): Justin Capshaw, guest appearance
- The Covenant (2006): Chase Collins
- Gossip Girl (2007-2010): Carter Baizen
- Rachel Getting Married (2008): Walter
- Kings (2009): Prince Jack Benjamin
- Spread (2009): Harry
- Hot Tub Time Machine (2010): Blaine
- Black Swan (2010): Andrew/Suitor
- Marvel Cinematic Universe (2011 — present) as Bucky Barnes / The Winter Soldier:
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014)
- Ant-Man (2015)
- Captain America: Civil War (2016)
- Black Panther (2018)
- Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
- Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- The Falcon and the Winter Soldier (2021)
- What If...? (2021)
- Thunderbolts (2024)
- Political Animals (2012): T.J. Hammond
- Once Upon a Time (2012): Jefferson/The Mad Hatter
- Gone (2012): Billy
- The Bronze (2015): Lance Tucker
- Ricki and the Flash (2015): Joshua
- The Martian (2015): Dr. Chris Beck
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2018): Charles Blackwood
- Logan Lucky (2017): Dayton White
- I, Tonya (2017): Jeff Gillooly
- Destroyer (2018): Chris
- Endings, Beginnings (2019): Frank
- The Last Full Measure (2020): Scott Huffman
- The Devil All the Time (2020): Lee Bodecker
- Monday (2021): Mickey
- The 355 (2022): Nick
- Pam & Tommy (2022): Tommy Lee
- Fresh (2022): Steve
- Sharper (2023): Max
- Dumb Money (2023): Vlad Tenev
Associated Tropes:
- Alliterative Name: Sebastian Stan. Fitting, since his best-known role is a superhero with an alliterative name of his own.
- Celebrity Resemblance: A lot of people have pointed out
that there's quite a resemblance between him and a young Mark Hamill, to the point where both have caught on and joked about it. During season 2 of The Mandalorian in November 2020, Boss Logic posted a manip of Stan as Luke Skywalker, which led to a rash of fans and smaller news outlets recalling this and thinking he could potentially play an older Luke from between the Original and Sequel trilogies. He also bares a resemblance to a young Robert Wagner from the later period of The Golden Age of Hollywood, making Stan the Robert Wagner of the The New '10s of The Blockbuster Age of Hollywood.- Recently, people have also pointed out his resemblance to a young Stephen Sondheim. See for yourself.◊
- To Richard Madden as well. When Madden joined the MCU as Ikaris on Eternals, a lot of people asked "What's Bucky doing in Eternals?" This has led to rise of memes like this.
- Recently, people have also pointed out his resemblance to a young Stephen Sondheim. See for yourself.
- Commie Land: When asked by a fan at a convention Q&A panel if he read any comics growing up, he said no, and proceeded to offer a glimpse into his childhood in communist Romania in the 1980s.Stan: I actually didn't read comic books growing up... because I was a communist. And so I didn't have comic books. I just had weird cheese, and stuff. I don't know.
- Deadpan Snarker: He has a snarky, self-deprecating sense of humor combined with stoic delivery. Displayed especially with fellow co-star Anthony Mackie.
- Meme Acknowledgement: On December 16th, 2017, Stan took a selfie◊ of himself doing a Facepalm in front of a bunch of Iron Man suits, realizing what day it was (as evidenced by the caption mentioning December 16, 1991).
- Old Shame:
- Hot Tub Time Machine. He hardly talks about it in interviews.
- His entire non-Marvel filmography seems to be this, at times. When asked which of his previous characters he'd import to the MCU:Stan: Well, looking at my brilliant filmography outside the Captain America movies, I am just not going to even speak right now. Pour myself a glass of water.
- When asked if he was bothered by having so little dialogue in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, he answered that sometimes, not having that much to say is a relief and that he's been burned more than once by having to say absolutely ridiculous lines that no-one would ever use in real life. Fans familiar with his past films know what he's talking about.
- Playing Against Type: He often plays relatively dark and/or troubled characters, but his character in Ricki and the Flash is a sweetheart.
- Pretty Boy: Especially in his twenties. His Out magazine photoshoot is probably the height of this.
- Puppy-Dog Eyes: Used with extreme effectiveness when the role calls for it.◊ Especially as Bucky Barnes◊, who just looks like a kicked puppy sometimes.
- Romance on the Set: He dated his Gossip Girl co-star Leighton Meester from 2008 to 2010. He also briefly dated his Once Upon a Time co-star Jennifer Morrison, and was with his Spread co-star Margarita Levieva for a couple years.
- Sitcom Archnemesis: He and Anthony Mackie have been joking about their enmity with Tom Holland since the three starred in Captain America: Civil War.
- Star-Making Role: As Bucky Barnes in Captain America: The First Avenger.
- Typecasting: An oddly specific one. Outside of the Captain America movies, his most popular roles — as Jack Benjamin and T.J Hammond — involve him playing the gay, troubled heir to a political dynasty. In a more general sense, most of the roles that have made him famous are of the Troubled, but Cute variety.
- Verbal Tic: It would be easier to make a drinking game out of the times when he does manage, speaking as himself and not when acting, to make it through a complete sentence without saying "um" or "y'know".
