Hollywood Reporter – The actor, commonly known for playing Bucky Barnes/the Winter Soldier in many Marvel films, earned his first Oscar nomination earlier this year.

Sebastian Stan is glad his career has unfolded the way it has.

In a recent appearance on Don Saladino’s Stronger Podcast, Stan, 43, opened up about why he feels he has to challenge himself and take on different roles.

“I have to try to offer something different than before. And I’ve never favored one role over another,” he said. “The Marvel stuff, I’ll always, till the end of time, [say it] really helped me grow as a person and helped me grow as an actor and it taught me relationships and Robert Downey [Jr.] and Scarlett [Johansson] and all these people I looked up and it was a business. It was a family and it gave me like a sense of belonging and it’s always there for that, but it was only the step one for me.”

However, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier star noted that his transition to more critically acclaimed projects like I, Tonya, Pam & Tommy, A Different Man and The Apprentice needed to happen later in his life.

“This is where I’m finally now, and I’m lucky that it’s happening in my 40s, and it didn’t happen earlier for me because I look at these young guys like Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler — they’re doing stuff that I don’t think I could have done at their age. I just wasn’t there. I wasn’t caught up yet,” Stan explained. “I’m amazed at where they are at this point because I go, ‘Wow, where’s that guy going to be at 40?’ Imagine. But for me, I needed to grow.”

He also credited this to not being born in the United States, as Stan is from Romania. “There was there was a significant part of my youth that I had to spend to get Americanized or to fit in and really find my way in a different way,” the actor said. “But it’s really now that I feel I’m finally getting to do the stuff I’ve always wanted to do.”

At the 2024 Oscars, Stan received his first Oscar nomination — as well as a Golden Globe, BAFTA and Film Independent Spirit Awards nod — for playing President Donald Trump in The Apprentice. However, he lost to Adrien Brody for The Brutalist. The actor also nabbed Emmy, Critics’ Choice Award and Golden Globe nominations for his role as rock star Tommy Lee in Pam & Tommy. For his role in this year’s A Different Man, Stan won his first Golden Globe, among other awards and noms.

Variety

Sebastian Stan is getting candid about his time with Marvel.

During a recent interview on the “Stronger Podcast,” Stan, who played Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, across seven Marvel films, said the blockbuster giant “really helped” him grow as a person and actor. However, now, at 43 years old, he’s trying to expand past the comic book action.

“I have to try to offer something different than before,” Stan said. “And I’ve never favored one role over another. The Marvel stuff, I’ll always, till the end of time, [feel it] really helped me grow as a person and helped me grow as an actor and it taught me relationships and [I worked with] Robert Downey [Jr.] and Scarlett [Johansson] and all these people I looked up to. It was a business. It was a family and it gave me a sense of belonging, and it’s always there for that, but it was only the step one for me.”

Stan added that he feels “lucky” that his more refined work in films like “The Apprentice” and “A Different Man” came later in life. He added he looks at “young guys like Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler” and sees them achieving things “I could not have done at their age.”

Due to his Romanian heritage, Stan also noted it took some time to fit in with the American movie industry.

“There was a significant part of my youth that I had to spend to get Americanized or to fit in and really find my way in a different way,” he explained. “But it’s really now that I feel I’m finally getting to do the stuff I’ve always wanted to do.”

2025 was a breakout year for Stan in terms of award recognition. His leading performance in “A Different Man” earned him a Golden Globe. He was also nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for his portrayal of Donald Trump in “The Apprentice.”