From Gossip Girl To The Marvel Universe

From Gossip Girl To The Marvel Universe

- Cezar Greif

SEBASTIAN STAN IS HUMBLE TO A FAULT. You can scarcely imagine that a superhero from the Marvel universe is played by such a down-to-earth, unassuming man. But since 2010, Stan has assumed the mantle of captain Bucky Barnes, who had his big break as the leading character in Captain America: Winter Soldier. Maybe that’s how Marvel and Disney trick us into seeing these movies: they hire nuanced, thoughtful actors and not just action stars. Resistance is futile.

This year is shaping up to be a big one for Stan, with new roles where he gets to flex his acting chops, such as his turn in I, Tonya where he played the scheming husband of the title character, and a lead role opposite Nicole Kidman in Destroyer. Although he lives in New York, Stan frequently goes to Los Angeles for work, and it is during one of his westward treks that we caught up with him, in the penthouse of the Shangri-La, a luxurious beachfront Santa Monica hotel.

You’re originally from Romania, the Latin country of Eastern Europe. do you have a bit of the latin/romantic in you?

I was born there and left when I was eight. Then I lived in Austria for four years before moving to the US in 1995.

You came to New York when you were 12? What was it like?

It was weird. A lot of my childhood was kind of chaotic, moving around. But this is the life of an actor. You’re always moving, four months there, 10 months there. I’m used to change. I crave it, in fact. I like relocating and going to a place I’ve never been and restart, get to know it. All that stuff is fun for me, when I’m doing my job.

Will you ever go back to Romania?