Sebastian Stan is most popular for his work in Marvel films where he plays the troubled Bucky Barnes, but his filmography extends beyond his role as the metal-armed, best friend to Captain America, turned brainwashed-assassin, turned back into best friend.
Here are his best films, based on their Rotten Tomatoes score. Please note, we've removed listings where Stan only appeared in too brief a scene to really have a character.
Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 94%
Technically, Avengers: Endgame only just makes the cut for this list, because Stan barely appears for more than a scene, which, for his die-hard fans, was incredibly disappointing. Still, he's technically in the big battle sequence, the funeral scene, and the ending moments, so that's just enough to get it a place.
While ostensibly, it's great that Bucky is resurrected in this movie, it's a shame he doesn't get a proper battlefield reunion with Steve Rogers...and that Steve leaves him alone in the past at the end of the film.
Logan Lucky (2017) - 92%
Although Stan is only in this film for a short time, it is a good one. Logan Lucky is a star-studded comedy, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Adam Driver, Channing Tatum, and Katie Holmes.
In the film, Stan plays Dayton White, a NASCAR driver with a hardcore fitness routine that's sure to have fans swooning. Unfortunately for fandom, while franchise favorites Stan and Driver are both in the film, Kylo Ren and Bucky Barnes never make .
Captain America: Civil War (2016) - 91%
Civil War is an excellent Bucky Barnes entry for Stan. In the movie, Bucky is in the center of all of the drama--as he becomes an unwitting pawn for a force who hopes to tear the Avengers apart.
Pitted between his best friend and his new team, Steve Rogers must make Tony Stark, and the three end up in a vicious battle. Unfortunately, Civil War did not see much resolution in the films that followed.
The Martian (2015) - 91%
The Martian is an outer space thriller starring Matt Damon and directed by Ridley Scott. In the film, an astronaut must keep his cool as he tries to signal from space that he is still alive.
Stan plays one of the featured team of astronauts, Chris Beck, who is the flight surgeon for the space mission central to the movie. Chris graduated from Yale School of Medicine and was awarded a prestigious prize during his time in school. Stan's character gets a romantic subplot which fans very much enjoyed.
Captain America: The Winter Soldier (2014) - 90%
Though Stan has very few lines in Winter Soldier, he absolutely slays the role. It is not easy to play feral, angry, confused, brainwashed, scared, and revelatory with little to say, and on occasion, a full face mask, but Stan really nails it.
The audience goes through a journey with Bucky Barnes in this movie, and he cements his place as a fan favorite.
I, Tonya (2018) - 89%
I, Tonya is a movie that really shows off Stan's range. The film is biopic about Tonya Harding, following her life up to the incident with Nancy Kerrigen.
Stan plays Harding's husband, Jeff Gillooly, in a role truly unlike any he's ever taken on. A thoroughly unlikeable fan, Stan brings the real-life figure to the screen in all his glory.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (2019) - 86%
We Have Always Lived in the Castle is another interesting outing for Stan. This film is a moody, unsettling tale based on Shirley Jackson's novel of the same name. The film also stars Taissa Farmiga, Alexandra Daddario, and Crispin Glover.
Sebastian stars as a cousin who intrudes upon his isolated family, looking for money, but his arrival threatens the reveal of something dark.
Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 85%
Although Bucky's scenes in Infinity War are also few in number, it's great to see him smiling with his best friend, no matter how short-lived it is.
At the end of the movie, Bucky is the first of the Avengers to be snapped by Thanos, drawing a literal gasp from the audience who definitely did not expect this turn of events.
Captain America: The First Avenger (2011) - 80%
The First Avenger is Stan's first outing as Bucky Barnes and it's a great one. In TFA, Bucky has not yet undergone much of the torment that awaits him, so he's much more jovial, flirtatious, and, well, stable. Despite this, he has moments of darkness that hint at what's in store for him.
The audience sees him be a loyal friend to Steve Rogers--fighting side by side with Captain America to the last.
Destroyer (2018) - 74%
Destroyer is a fascinating film, also starring Nicole Kidman, and directed by Karyn Kusama. Similarly to his role in the MCU, Stan plays a character that greatly transforms throughout this psychological thriller.
Fans get to see his range as he goes from a regular undercover detective to something much darker, both mentally and physically. The film is a great study of how easy it is to lose the self and Stan plays his role perfectly.
