Occupational Inheritance: No
Mother: pianist
Social Class: upper-middle; mother pianist; parents divorced at 2
Birth: Romania; US as a boy of 12
Race/Ethnicity/Religion: Romanian Orthodox Church.
Family: raised by mom; parents divorced at age 2
Education:
Training: Rutgers University, 2005
Teacher/Inspirational
Radio Debut:
TV Debut: Law and Order, 2003; aged 21
Stage Debut:
Broadway Debut: Talk Radio, 2007; aged 25
Film Debut:
Breakthrough Role: A Different Man, 2024, Silver Bear acting
Oscar Role: The Apprentice, 2024, aged 42
Other Noms:
Other Awards: Emmy nom
Frequent Collaborators:
Screen Image:
Last Film:
Career Output:
Film Career Span: 1994-present (30 years)
Marriage:
Politics:
Philanthropy
Sebastian Stan gained recognition for his role as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise beginning with “Captain America: The First Avenger (2011),” and including the Disney+ miniseries, “The Falcon and the Winter Soldier” (2021).
On TV, Stan played Carter Baizen in Gossip Girl (2007–2010), the Mad Hatter in Once Upon a Time (2012), and starred in the miniseries “Political Animals” (2012).
In 2022, he received critical acclaim for playing Tommy Lee in the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, earning nomination for Primetime Emmy Award.
On Broadway, Stan has appeared in Eric Bogosian play “Talk Radio” (2007) and starred in William Inge’s play “Picnic” (2013).
On film, Stan had a supporting role in The Martian (2015), and starred in I, Tonya (2017) and Fresh (2022).
He played a man with neurofibromatosis in A Different Man (2024), for which he won the Silver Bear for Best Performance.
For his portrayal of a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice (2024), Stan earned Best Actor Oscar nomination.
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 8, he and his mother, Georgeta Orlovschi, moved to Vienna, Austria, where she was employed as a pianist, after 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 US. He was raised in the Romanian Orthodox Church.
During Stan’s years at the Rockland school, he starred in productions of 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 productions. 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, and spent year abroad studying acting at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London.
He graduated from Rutgers in 2005.
Stan became a US citizen in 2002.
After appearing 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 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.
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.
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 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 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 Destroyer (2018).
Stan portrayed Charles Blackwood in We Have Always Lived in the Castle, 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. Endings, Beginnings, premiered at the Toronto Film Fest in September.
Stan starred as protagonist Scott Huffman in the Vietnam War drama, The Last Full Measure (January 2020).
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.[31] 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,[32][33] and ran through April 23, 2021.
In May 2019, Stan joined the cast of the spy thriller, The 355 (released in 2022).
Stan next starred as Tommy Lee opposite Lily James as Pamela Anderson in Hulu’s biopic miniseries Pam & Tommy (2022), about their personal sex tape which was stolen in 1995.
For his performance he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series.
He also starred in the Hulu thriller film Fresh (2022) opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones.
In 2023, Stan starred alongside Julianne Moore in Apple TV+ and A24’s thriller, Sharper.
In 2024, he won the Silver Bear for Leading Performance for playing a man with neurofibromatosis in A Different Man, and portrayed Donald Trump in The Apprentice.
For “The Apprentice,” in which he played the young Donald Trump, he was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar.
He will reprise the role of Bucky Barnes in the MCU film “Thunderbolts” in 2025.
Since his appearance in the TV series Gossip Girl as Carter Baizen, the actor was in a relationship with the actress Leighton Meester until April 2010.
After joint photo at actor Robert Pattinson’s birthday party in May 2022, Stan and British actress Annabelle Wallis made their relationship public.
Stan is a supporter of charitable organizations, Our Big Day Out, nonprofit based in Romania that helps provide children with a higher quality of life.
He is also associated with the Ronald McDonald House. In 2020, he attended the charity’s first Virtual Gala with his Marvel co-star Anthony Mackie.
Other charities supported include Dramatic Need and Save the Children.
Film
1994 71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance, Kid in Subway
2004 Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding Johnny Nunzio
2005 Red Doors Simon
2006 The Architect Martin Waters
The Covenant Chase Collins
2007 The Education of Charlie Banks Leo Reilly
2008 Rachel Getting Married Walter
2009 Spread Harry
2010 Hot Tub Time Machine Blaine
Black Swan Andrew / Suitor
2011 Captain America: The First Avenger James “Bucky” Barnes [51]
2012 Gone Billy
The Apparition Ben Curtis
2014 Captain America: The Winter Soldier James “Bucky” Barnes / Winter Soldier [52]
2015 Ant-Man Uncredited cameo; post-credits scene
The Bronze Lance Tucker
Ricki and the Flash Joshua Brummel
The Martian Dr. Chris Beck
2016 Captain America: Civil War James “Bucky” Barnes / Winter Soldier
2017
Logan Lucky Dayton White
I, Tonya, Jeff Gillooly
I’m Not Here Steve
2018
Destroyer Det. Chris
We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Charles Blackwood
Black Panther James “Bucky” Barnes/White Wolf; Uncredited cameo; post-credits scene
Avengers: Infinity War
2019
Avengers: Endgame
Endings, Beginnings Frank
The Last Full Measure Scott Huffman
2020
The Devil All the Time, Lee Bodecker
Monday Mickey
2022
The 355 Nick Fowler
Fresh Steve
2023
Sharper Max
Ghosted God
Dumb Money Vlad Tenev
2024
A Different Man, Edward Lemuel / Guy Moratz, also exec producer
The Apprentice, Donald Trump
2025
Captain America: Brave New World James “Bucky” Barnes Uncredited cameo
Thunderbolts* † Post-production
Blue Banks † — Producer only
