Sebastian Stan is on an absolute tear this fall, making appearances in acclaimed indies like A24’s “A Different Man” and the more recent young Donald Trump biopic, “The Apprentice,” evincing his range beyond superhero films. Of course, he’s made his name on his long-running role as Bucky Barnes/The Winter Solider in the Marvel universe films, having played the character in five movies, one TV series, and a seventh film on the way with next summer’s “Thunderbolts*” film.
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While Stan is definitely showing off his range in recent years—including playing Motley Crew rocker Tommy Lee in “Pam & Tommy”— the actor seemingly was trying to break into superhero movies and big tentpole genre films early in his career.
In a recent interview with Happy Sad Confused, Sebastian Stan revealed that he auditioned for J.J. Abrams’ first “Star Trek” movie as Captain Kirk and also auditioned for the lead role in 2011’s “Green Lantern.”
“There were a couple of things I didn’t get that I really desperately wanted,” he said, mentioning an unnamed Russell Crowe movie and other indies before confirming he did audition for “Star Trek.” “But Captain Kirk for J.J. Abrams; that was one of the first I got very close to. I remember I was really, really close, and I remember I had a screen test with [Abrams] at Paramount, and my manager had me do a separate photo shoot where I would try and replicate all these William Shatner pictures just to send to him, see how much I looked like him, but I didn’t get it.”
Stan also revealed that he went up for the “Green Lantern” movie that Ryan Reynolds eventually got. However, he might have dodged a bullet considering how much that actor loathes the film and constantly mocks it self-deprecatingly (see “Deadpool 2”). He also revealed some other actors who were in contention for the role.
“’Green Lantern’ was another [project] that I screen tested for,” he revealed. “I remember getting there, and it was like me, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, Ryan Reynolds, and maybe one other person, and I’m looking at these guys going, ‘I’m f*cked! There’s no way this is happening!’”
“But you come close, and it wouldn’t happen, and in a way, I gotta tell you, looking back, I’m almost glad it didn’t,” he continued. “Because I don’t know if I could have handled that level of attention like some of those guys.”
It’s a fascinating chat with “The Apprentice,” his latest role as the focus. Check out the full conversation with Sebastian Stan below, and also watch the trailer for Stan’s new movie, too, if you haven’t seen it. It’s playing in limited release now.
