Sebastian Stan covers the January/February issue of Men’s Health, on-stands December 31. Inside, Stan opens up about his “serial killer resting face”, comparing himself to Marvel stars, and how 2020 is shaping up to be his best year ever.
QUOTES:
On his signature deadpan expression: “People always ask me if I’m okay. They’ve said I have ‘serial-killer resting face.’ No matter what I do, I’ve always had dark circles under my eyes that never really go away. Lately there might be a little moisturizer happening here and there, just in case. Preserving a couple years, or whatever.”
On the pressure to get ripped and outgrowing the arm he wears in the Captain America series: “I was so insecure being around these massive f**king guys, so I started lifting really heavy and ate a lot. I remember I showed up, and I was a little bit bigger than I had been in The Winter Solider. The arm was a bit tight. I was losing circulation.”
On whether the Marvel superhero narrative is a dated, unrelated picture of masculinity:
“When I was watching Steve Rogers, I saw him question his identity, his alliances, the government. ‘Who am I? What is this? What made me come into this is very different than the role I am in now.’ I think it was very timely, in the sense that you could see that character evolve. Then he gives up his shield and is like, ‘I’m out. I’m going to do my own thing.’ He choose his own life. It’s actually more relatable.”
On Falcon co-star Anthony Mackie – who plays the enthusiastic extrovert to Stan’s pensive recluse:
“When I’m trying hard to find the honest moment, he sort of unlocks me a little bit. We both laugh and find a way to have a good time.”
On joking about how Mackie would describe him:
“Here’s what he’s going to say: ‘He’s way too serious. It’s boring. He slows everything down. It’s always these questions and, like, the stare. Give this kid a Yoo-hoo! Somebody get him a chocolate milk. Good God, put a smile on his face!”
How Anthony Mackie actually describes Stan:“If the FBI ever needed to get anything out of him, they’d be in very big trouble. I don’t know what the male equivalent would be of ‘resting bitch face,’ but Sebastian has nailed that 100 percent.”
On how he began really getting into fitness in 2005 for his role in The Covenant:
“I got a call and one of the producers said to me, ‘Look, you’re going to have to look like John Travolta in Staying Alive.’ He’s just glistening with muscles. It’s ridiculous. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I started to work out with a trainer, but it was my buddy Taylor Kitsch who got me into it.”
On starring in the Broadway revival of William Inge’s Picnic in 2013:
“I had to be basically shirtless every night, like eight shows a week. I really zoned in on diet, and everything transformed.”
On comparing his physical self to other Marvel stars:
“I mean next to Evans and Hemsworth and all those guys, I feel like I’m 50 miles behind. I don’t think I can get to that size to be honest. My body right now Is probably the best it’s ever been.”
On moving to New York from Romania and Vienna in 1995:
“I am Eastern European. We left communism. When I came here, I just wanted to be like everybody else.”
On the mannerisms he picked up from his Romanian heritage:
“For me, based on my mother, the ‘Romanian temperament’ is perseverance – being able to handle more than you think you can. At 27, my mother was working two jobs in a foreign country where she barely spoke the language. There’s a sense of family and perseverance that’s deeply ingrained in the blood.”
On reaction to filmmaker Martin Scorsee saying that Marvel films “are not cinema”:
“All I know is that all movies affect people. I’ve certainly experienced firsthand many people who have been affected and helped by Marvel movies.”
On taking questions from fans about his fictional characters like Bucky Barnes:
“They think we are these people. Now we’re much more obsesed with the personality rather than the actor. We take people and swallow them and digest them and chew them up, and then we spit them out the other side. Then we’re done. We’ve done that with numerous celebrities – people. I’ve seen people have massive ups and down and stuff. All I can do is just try to be as honest as I can. And do my job.”