'Avengers' Sebastian Stan Is Keeping the Action Hero Interesting

Sebastian Stan has leading man looks but has thrived playing supporting parts in films by Ridley Scott, Steven Soderbergh and Darren Aronofsky. His most recent film, I, Tonya, was nominated in three Academy Award categories. His most viable role is Bucky Barnes or the Winter Soldier, soon to be seen again in Avengers: Infinity Wars, which is part of the most lucrative film franchise in history. Stan told GQ that he leveraged the big movies to be in smaller, more prestigious films. “I never would’ve gotten I, Tonya without Marvel,” he said. He may not have fully struggled in Hollywood, GQ writes, but he was close.

“I’ve had that phone call from my accountant that said, ‘I was about to call you to tell you that you’re bankrupt,” he said. “And then you just got a residual check in the mail for this movie Hot Tub Time Machine,’ you know?”

Stan knows what traditional success looks like in the franchise era — becoming identified with a character, and then only ever playing that character again and again — he did get a nine-film deal with Marvel. But instead of going that route, Stan has worked to find a different, more dynamic version of a career: stable but under-the-radar franchise work and then more ambitious and creative films in the downtown he gets.