Sebastian Stan ‘brutally’ ignored during first big audition

Sebastian Stan’s first big audition was “brutal” when the casting director didn’t even turn away from his computer to watch.
The 33-year-old actor is now part of one of the biggest film series in the world, Marvel’s Captain America movies, taking on the role of Bucky Barnes/ Winter Soldier. Success didn’t come easily though and there is still one moment from when he was starting out that continues to haunt him.
“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,” he told Backstage magazine. “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.
“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.”
From then on, Sebastian decided the most important part of an audition isn’t necessarily getting the job, but bonding with the cast director so they remember him for next time. Luckily, around 10 rehearsals for various projects later, that same anonymous person offered the star his first big acting job.
While the first few years of his career were “really tough and painful and hurtful”, Sebastian can now look back with fondness.
“You have the opportunity to sometimes experiment more,” he recalled. “It was just, ‘Get a job, any job,’ and then you were so grateful to work.
“Expectations, really f**k you up. It’s OK to have dreams, it’s OK to have goals, in my opinion. But I really think it’s much more 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 best part because there are still places to climb up to.”