Sebastian Stan says his early career years were tough but he reflects on them with nostalgia now.

Sebastian Stan, known for his roles as Bucky Barnes/Winter Soldier in Marvel’s Captain America series and as Tommy Lee in Hulu’s Pam & Tommy, is the heartthrob of this generation. His acting career has seen remarkable success in recent years.

Sebastian Stan
Even though the 33-year-old actor is now a part of the immensely popular Marvel Captain America film series, his success was hard-won. And there’s one moment from his early days that still bothers him.

The moments were those “brutal auditions” that he had to go through often. The actor was already struggling, and those moments were like a salt in the wound.

Sebastian Stan Had to Go Through the Most “Brutal” Audition in His Early Struggling Days

Young Sebastian Stan
In his earlier struggling days, Sebastian Stan had his very first major audition in which the casting director didn’t even look away from the computer screen to watch his performance. As Stan told Backstage Magazine:
“Most of the people I admire as actors didn’t make it until their mid-30s: the Mark Ruffalos, the John Hawkeses of the world.”
Then the actor went on to say:
“One of my first big auditions for a casting director in New York – who’s amazing, I’m not going to say their name – I walked into the audition, and they were on their computer doing an email.”
He continued and added:
“The assistant was behind them. And I said ‘Hi,’ and they didn’t turn around. They said, ‘Yeah, go ahead.’ And then I read with the assistant, and the casting director didn’t even turn once! I was in the same room, they were continuing to type the email while I was in there doing it! Just brutal.”
After that experience, Stan realized that the most important part of auditions wasn’t always getting the role but building a connection with the casting director so they’d remember him for future opportunities.

Fortunately, after around ten rehearsals for different projects, that same anonymous casting director offered him his first big acting gig.

Sebastian Stan on Challenging Early Career and Growth

Sebastian Stan as The Winter Soldier in Captain America: Civil War
Although the initial years of Stan’s career were “really tough and painful and hurtful,” he now reflects on them with a sense of nostalgia and appreciation. In the same conversation (via Backstage Magazine), he recalled that “you have the opportunity to sometimes experiment more.”

The actor added that having high expectations can really ruin you. Therefore, he said, “it’s OK to have dreams, it’s OK to have goals.”

But he thinks the most important part is “about the climb and the work you do on the way up.” “The climb is really hard and really rough,” but it’s also the most rewarding because there are always new heights to strive for.

Undoubtedly, he has become one of the significant figures in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His patience led him to get his big break in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) as Bucky Barnes.