Sebastian Stan

Sebastian Stan (born August 13, 1982) is a Romania-born American actor. Known for his work in both blockbuster and independent films, his accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Silver Bear, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award.

Stan started his career appearing in various films and stage productions during the late 1990s and early 2000s, before gaining early attention by playing Carter Baizen in the CW drama series ''Gossip Girl'' (2007–2010) and the Mad Hatter in ''Once Upon a Time'' (2012). Global stardom came from his portrayal of Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe media franchise, beginning with the film '' Captain America: The First Avenger'' (2011), and serving as a lead actor in the Disney+ miniseries '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'' (2021) and the film '' Thunderbolts*'' (2025). On Broadway, Stan has appeared in the Eric Bogosian play ''Talk Radio'' (2007) and starred in the William Inge play ''Picnic'' (2013).

Stan concurrently appeared in a number of successful films, including supporting roles in '' The Martian'' (2015), and starring roles in '' I, Tonya'' (2017) and '' Fresh'' (2022). For his portrayal of Tommy Lee in the Hulu docudrama miniseries '' Pam & Tommy'' (2022), he earned a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In 2024, Stan received praise for playing a man with neurofibromatosis in the comic thriller '' A Different Man'' and young Donald Trump in the biographical drama '' The Apprentice'', earning Silver Bear and Golden Globe Awards for the former and a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for the latter.

Early life and education

Stan was born August 13, 1982, in Constanța, then in the Romanian SR. He was named by his pianist mother after the composer Johann Sebastian Bach. His parents divorced when he was two years old. When he was eight, he and his mother, Georgeta Orlovschi, moved to Vienna, Austria, where she was employed as a pianist, following the Revolutions of 1989. Four years later, they moved to Rockland County, New York, after his mother married the headmaster of a school in the United States. He was raised in the Romanian Orthodox Church.

During Stan's years at the Rockland school, he starred in productions including '' Harvey'', '' Cyrano de Bergerac'', '' Little Shop of Horrors'', '' Over Here!'', and ''West Side Story''. He also attended the Stagedoor Manor summer camp, where he was cast in many camp productions. It was then that he decided to take acting seriously and began applying to acting programs at several universities. He attended Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts, which enabled him to spend a year abroad studying acting at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London, England. He graduated from Rutgers in 2005. Stan became a United States citizen in 2002.

Career

1994–2013: Film debut and Broadway roles

After an appearance in the 1994 film '' 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance'', Stan's career began in earnest in 2003 with a role on ''Law & Order''. This was followed by several film appearances, including '' Tony n' Tina's Wedding'', '' The Architect'', and '' The Covenant'' (both 2006), followed by a recurring role on ''Gossip Girl'' as Carter Baizen, beginning in 2007. Stan then had a lead role in the 2009 series '' Kings'' as Jack Benjamin. In 2010, he appeared in Darren Aronofsky's ballet thriller ''Black Swan'' and played the role of antagonist Blaine in the comedy '' Hot Tub Time Machine''. In 2011, he portrayed Bucky Barnes in the film '' Captain America: The First Avenger'', which was based on the Marvel Comics character. This was his first film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, (MCU); it was not part of the nine-picture contract he later secured with Marvel Studios. In a 2021 interview, Stan recalled that about a month after the Captain America film was released, he was struggling to pay his rent.

In 2012, Stan starred in the thriller '' Gone'' and the supernatural horror film '' The Apparition''; he also began a recurring role in the TV series ''Once Upon a Time'' as the Mad Hatter. A review by '' The A.V. Club'' described his work in " Hat Trick", his premiere episode in that series, as "excellent" and placed the episode in their list of the 30 best episodes of 2012 from the series that did not make their top list. It was initially reported the role would be recast for the spin-off series '' Once Upon a Time in Wonderland'' due to Stan's commitment to the MCU, but Edward Kitsis revealed that, in response to fan backlash and out of respect for Stan's performance, the character would not be recast and the series would instead proceed without the character. The same year, he also appeared in the USA Network miniseries '' Political Animals'' as the troubled gay son of a former First Lady, which earned him a nomination for the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Movie/Miniseries. In 2013, Stan played Hal Carter in the Roundabout Theater Company's production of William Inge's ''Picnic'' at the American Airlines Theater in New York.

2014–2019: MCU films and ''I, Tonya''

In '' Captain America: The Winter Soldier'' (2014), Stan reprised his role as Bucky Barnes, with his character now re-named Winter Soldier; this was the first film of his nine-film contract. In 2015, he played Joshua Brummel in '' Ricki and the Flash''; he also co-starred in '' The Martian'' as NASA scientist Dr. Chris Beck and in '' The Bronze'' as Lance Tucker. Stan next reprised his role as the Winter Soldier in '' Ant-Man'' (cameo appearance) (2015) and '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016). In 2017, Stan co-starred as NASCAR driver Dayton White in Steven Soderbergh's caper comedy, '' Logan Lucky'', and starred in the drama '' I'm Not Here''. Also that year he co-starred in Craig Gillespie's biopic '' I, Tonya'' portraying Jeff Gillooly alongside Margot Robbie as Tonya Harding.

In 2018, Stan again portrayed Winter Soldier in both ''Black Panther'' (as an uncredited cameo), and '' Avengers: Infinity War''. He then appeared opposite Nicole Kidman in the thriller film ''Destroyer'' (2018). Stan portrayed Charles Blackwood in '' We Have Always Lived in the Castle'', a film adaptation of Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name. Stan's first film of 2019 was '' Avengers: Endgame'', released in April, in which he reprised his role as Winter Soldier. His second film that year, '' Endings, Beginnings'', premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September.

Stan starred as protagonist Scott Huffman in the Vietnam War film drama, '' The Last Full Measure'' (released in January 2020). In addition, Stan appeared in ''Monday'' and ''The Chain''. In February 2019, he replaced his MCU co-star Chris Evans in the southern gothic crime drama film '' The Devil All the Time'', which premiered on Netflix in 2020. In April 2019, Disney confirmed that they would be releasing a Marvel television series starring Stan and Anthony Mackie, called '' The Falcon and the Winter Soldier'', which began airing on Disney+ on March 19, 2021, and ran through April 23, 2021. In May 2019, Stan joined the cast of the spy thriller, '' The 355'' (released in 2022).

2020–present: Critical recognition

Stan next starred as Tommy Lee opposite Lily James as Pamela Anderson in Hulu's biographical miniseries '' Pam & Tommy'' (2022) centering around their personal sex tape which was stolen in 1995. Lucy Mangan of ''The Guardian'' described their performances as "astonishing" adding, "They each achieve the feat of uncannily resembling – aesthetically, vocally, and in every mannerism – the real-life people, without descending into mimicry." For his performance he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. He also starred in the Hulu thriller film '' Fresh'' (2022) opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones. Sophie Butcher of ''Empire'' praised their chemistry adding, "Stan in particular is having a ball, unleashing the kind of unhinged energy we’ve seen most recently from him in ''Pam & Tommy''".

In 2023, Stan starred alongside Julianne Moore in Apple TV+ and A24's thriller, '' Sharper''. The following year, he won the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance for playing a man with neurofibromatosis in '' A Different Man'', and portrayed a young Donald Trump in '' The Apprentice''. For both roles, he received simultaneous Golden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy and Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Drama, respectively. He won for ''A Different Man''. For ''The Apprentice'' he was nominated for the Academy and BAFTA Award for Best Actor.

Stan reprised the role of Bucky Barnes twice in 2025, in '' Captain America: Brave New World'' and '' Thunderbolts*''. He will also play the character in '' Avengers: Doomsday''.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Theatre

Video games

Music videos

Awards and nominations

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Stan, Sebastian
1982 births
21st-century American male actors
21st-century Romanian male actors
American male film actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
Living people
Male actors from New York (state)
Mason Gross School of the Arts alumni
People from Constanța
People from Rockland County, New York
Romanian emigrants to the United States
Romanian male film actors
Rutgers University alumni
Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance winners
Naturalized citizens of the United States
Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners
People with multiple citizenship
Best Leading Performance in a Film Canadian Screen Award winners