Sebastian Stan's 15 best and 15 worst movies, according to critics
Amy Sussman/Getty Images
- Sebastian Stan just received his first Oscar nomination.
- We looked at the critics' scores for all of his movies on Rotten Tomatoes.
- Not surprisingly, his top-rated movie is "Avengers: Endgame."
Sebastian Stan has had one of the most interesting careers in Hollywood. He got his start on TV playing roles like Carter Baizen in "Gossip Girl," TJ Hammond in "Political Animals," and the Mad Hatter in "Once Upon a Time." At the same time, he was cast as Bucky Barnes, the lovable best friend of Steve Rogers in 2011's "Captain America: The First Avenger."
Fourteen years later, Stan is still playing Bucky, aka the Winter Soldier — "Thunderbolts" is out this year — and has appeared in multiple billion-dollar films in the role. He's also been nominated for an Emmy for playing Tommy Lee in "Pam & Tommy," appeared in multiple best picture nominees, and got the two biggest accolades of his career this year.
He won best actor in a comedy at the 2025 Golden Globes for his role in "A Different Man" and, a few weeks later, received his first Oscar nomination for playing Donald Trump in "The Apprentice."
Here's how critics have received Stan's films throughout his career.
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
According to critics' scores on Rotten Tomatoes, these are the worst films of Stan's career.
Sony Pictures Releasing
Ricki (Meryl Streep) abandoned her family to pursue her dreams of becoming a rock star, but years later, she is forced to reckon with what it did to the three kids she left behind, including her son Joshua (Stan), who didn't even tell her that he is engaged.
"Ricki's life may be chaotic but the film hits the high notes when it counts, in rambunctious, crowd-pleasing fashion," wrote Mark Kermode of The Observer.
MGM Distribution Co.
When four middle-age friends reunite at the ski resort they used to frequent in their younger days, they're dismayed to find it rundown. They decide to get drunk and drown their sorrows in a hot tub, which takes them back to 1986. Stan plays a bully, Blaine, who's part of the resort's ski patrol.
"An irreverent, guilty pleasure, frat boy comedy, it blows a big fat raspberry at sci-fi fans and tells them to stick their Flux Capacitors where the sun don't shine," wrote Anna Smith of Metro.
Warner Brothers; Polychrome Pictures
The film mainly focuses on the Chinese-American Wong family as they navigate their own ups and downs while dealing with their distant father, Ed. Stan has a small role.
G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle called it "a gentle, pleasant film about people you genuinely like."
Roadside Attractions
Scott Huffman (Stan), a Pentagon employee, investigates the life and death of Vietnam airman William H. Pitsenbarger (Christopher Plummer), whose family has submitted a Medal of Honor request, only to find out there's way more to the story.
"Here's a true story about a young soldier's exceptional bravery and sacrifice made into a pretty average war movie, insubstantial and TV-ish despite the appearance of some decorated Hollywood veterans," wrote Cath Clarke for The Guardian.
IFC Films
Two strangers, Mickey (Stan) and Chloe (Denise Gough), meet while living in Athens and almost immediately have intense chemistry before embarking on a weekend-long relationship that turns into something more.
"Try though the actors may, they're unable to make us care about characters who are primarily defined by their lousy decisions and who lack the spark to draw us closer to their flame," wrote Ty Burr of The Boston Globe.
Anchor Bay Entertainment
Charlie (Jesse Eisenberg) and Danny (Chris Marquette) are childhood best friends who are now roommates in college. But when Mick (Jason Ritter), someone with a dark link to their hometown, decides to come stay with them, Charlie is worried he's planning revenge. Stan plays Leo, another one of their college friends.
"Though painted with broad strokes and marred by dialogue howlers during key moments, 'Education' tracks Charlie's emerging sense of identity and perspective," wrote Film Comment Magazine's Nicolas Rapold.
Samuel Goldwyn Films
After a bad breakup turns Daphne's (Shailene Woodley) world upside-down, she finds herself drawn to two polar opposite men who happen to be best friends: Jack (Jamie Dornan), a stable and serious writer, and Frank (Stan), a free-spirited guy always down for adventure.
Paste Magazine's Amy Amatangelo wrote, "'Endings/Beginnings' swerves toward an uplifting and positive conclusion [that] doesn't feel natural or earned. By then, one can only hope those familiar, poorly lit faces made the viewing worthwhile."
Gravitas Ventures
An old man, Steve (JK Simmons), is forced to look back at his life and figure out why he's been left old and alone. Stan plays the younger version of Steve.
"There isn't a moment of 'I'm Not Here' that didn't have me fervently wishing I wasn't here," wrote the New York Post's Sara Stewart.
Sony Pictures Classics
Former bronze medalist Hope Greggory (Melissa Rauch), who has been coasting on her minor celebrity ever since the Olympic Games, decides to coach young gymnastics superstar Maggie (Haley Lu Richardson) in order to receive a $500,000 inheritance from her dead coach. Stan plays another gymnastics trainer, Lance.
"This ostensibly edgy comedy didn't wring a single laugh out of me until maybe fifteen minutes before the finale," wrote Glenn Kenny for RogerEbert.com.
Universal Pictures
Three spies (and one field psychologist) from around the world team up to take down a crime lord in possession of a device that could effectively destroy the world. Stan plays Nick, a CIA agent and boyfriend of Jessica Chastain's character.
"If you've ever seen a mediocre action movie with a surprisingly stacked cast, then you've basically seen this," wrote Mashable's Kristy Puchko.
Anchor Bay Films
After Nikki (Ashton Kutcher), a gigolo who lives without a care in the world, meets Heather (Margarita Levieva), he becomes fixated on her — to the detriment of everything else in his life. Stan plays Harry, his best friend.
"Shallow, melodramatic, pretentious and wildly misguided, it's also ambitious, entertaining and rather funny," wrote Tom Huddleston of Time Out.
Lionsgate
A woman, Jill (Amanda Seyfried), is dealing with the aftermath of her brutal kidnapping a year prior … including that no one believes it actually happened. After her sister goes missing, she fears that her kidnapper has struck again. Stan plays the missing woman's boyfriend.
Derek Malcolm of the London Evening Standard wrote, "It's one of those Hollywood movies that goes in one eye and out the other."
Magnolia Pictures
An architect, played by Anthony LaPaglia, is forced to come to terms with his life — his wife is bored, his son doesn't care about following in his footsteps, and his daughter is growing up too fast — while contending with the fact that one of his projects has led to community decay. Stan plays his son, Martin.
"Despite his obvious earnestness, first-time director and cowriter Matt Tauber is ill-equipped to mine emotions this complex," wrote Michael Booth for the Denver Post.
Sony Pictures Releasing
A group of high school boys who are descended from ancient witches have to contend with the fact that their magic is slowly killing them. They also must confront a new foe, Chase (Stan), who threatens all of them.
"Flying scenes, frat-boy face-offs and pyrotechnic punch-ups are punctuated by excruciating expository dialogue," wrote Nigel Floyd of Time Out.
Warner Bros. Pictures
A group of college students, including Stan's character Ben, attempt to recreate the "Charles Experiment," which sees them stare at a drawing of a dead man named Charles to summon his spirit. It works, and they slowly get picked off one by one.
"The entity is a ghostly presence amid an even ghostlier absence. This is truly distressed real estate," wrote The Boston Globe's Mark Feeney.
Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images
The last few years have been great for Stan, including his first Golden Globe win, his first Oscar nomination, appearances in multiple billion-dollar films, and an Emmy nomination.
Disney/Marvel
When the puny Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) volunteers to become a science experiment for the US Army, he's turned into the super-strong and near-invulnerable Captain America, who dedicates his life to defeating the Nazis in World War II, with the help of Agent Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), best friend Bucky (Stan), and the rest of the Howling Commandos.
"[Director Joe] Johnston should be saluted for old-fashioned heart in a cynical age, while Marvel should be confined to barracks for cynical marketing," wrote Empire Magazine's Colin Kennedy.
Hulu
"Fresh," which dropped on Hulu in 2022, stars Daisy Edgar-Jones as Noa, a young woman who is sick of dating apps and decides to take a chance on Steve (played by Stan), a guy she met at the grocery store. Unsurprisingly, there's more to Steve than he lets on.
"The final act comes with perhaps too many surprises on the menu, but the film is so much fun that I didn't mind the extra courses," wrote Shirley Li of The Atlantic.
Briarcliff Entertainment
"The Apprentice" focuses on the rise of Donald Trump in the 1970s as he became a power player in New York real estate under the tutelage of Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong. Both Stan and Strong were nominated for Oscars.
"Stan does a bang-up job capturing Trump's verbal cadence and tics, his hand gestures, and his smirk, which seemed a lot less obvious in the 1970s and '80s than they are now," wrote Peter Howell for the Toronto Star.
Sony Pictures Releasing
"Dumb Money" is a "Big Short"-esque look at the GameStop stock squeeze. Wall Street and other ultrawealthy investors lost billions of dollars when they bet against the video game retailer, while the Reddit forum WallStreetBets was making the price go sky-high. Stan plays Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev.
"Paul Dano heads a sprawling cast as the guy leading the rebels with pitchforks on behalf of GameStop, resulting in a film that's smart and satisfying enough to earn every dollar it makes," wrote Brian Lowry for CNN.
Brainstorm Media
The Blackwood sisters are ostracized from the rest of society, as their whole town believes they are witches who poisoned their own parents. When their charismatic cousin Charles (Stan) comes to town, Constance (Alexandra Daddario) and Merricat (Taissa Farmiga) disagree on his intentions and what to do with him.
"The film adaptation of 'We Have Always Lived in the Castle' understands Shirley Jackson's novel as a tale of male abuse and female rage," wrote Roxana Hadadi for Pajiba.
Sony Pictures Classics
"Rachel Getting Married" stars Anne Hathaway as Kym Buchanan, a young woman who is released from rehab in order to attend her sister Rachel's wedding. Stan has a small role as someone else in Kym's rehab center.
"Hathaway's performance has been deservedly nominated for an Oscar. Whether or not she wins, here's hoping the associated kudos saves her from ever having to do another 'Bride Wars,'" wrote Sandra Hall of the Sydney Morning Herald. (Kate Winslet ultimately won the award for "The Reader.")
Fox Searchlight Pictures
"Black Swan" is a psychological thriller about a ballerina, Nina (Natalie Portman), whose grip on reality begins to slip after she's made the lead ballerina in a performance of "The Swan Queen." Sebastian plays a man who Nina meets at a bar while she's trying to access her inner darkness.
"By the end, Nina's quest for perfection — and Portman's blazing performance — will leave you breathless," wrote Caryn James for Marie Claire.
Marvel Studios
Earth's mightiest heroes are scattered throughout the planet — and space — to team up with the Guardians of the Galaxy for the first time to take down Thanos, their most formidable foe of all time, before he can obtain all six Infinity Stones and wipe out half the population of the universe.
"Never has the 'Marvel Cinematic Universe' seemed like more of a universe, in ways both good and bad. 'Infinity War' — the title is almost too apt — is far from a perfect movie, but it is probably close to the best movie it could have been," wrote The Atlantic's Christopher Orr.
Disney/Marvel
After the events of "The Avengers," Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) is working for SHIELD, a US governmental agency. But when his boss, Nick Fury, discovers a huge conspiracy, he's seemingly killed, and Steve is forced to go on the run.
At the same time, he discovers his best friend from the '40s, Bucky, didn't actually die during WWII, and was instead discovered by the Nazis. He was tortured and brainwashed into becoming a mindless killing machine: The Winter Soldier.
Kate Erbland of MTV wrote, "'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' neatly and entertainingly puts into motion some big changes in the Marvel universe, while still sticking to its own charms — no easy feat, but one fit for a hero."
Marvel
After HYDRA was destroyed at the end of "Winter Soldier," a newly free Bucky lies low in Romania. However, when he's framed for a bombing in Vienna, Steve comes to his defense, flying in the face of a new agreement called the Sokovia Accords, which aims to hold superheroes accountable, splitting the Avengers down the middle.
"It is one of the best movies to ever come out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, balancing engaging action set pieces and witty dialogue with intelligent character studies and ethical debates," wrote Salon's Matthew Rozsa.
Neon
Based on the real story of figure skater Tonya Harding (Margot Robbie), the film follows her life from childhood and learning how to skate, all the way to the infamous night when Nancy Kerrigan was attacked.
Stan plays Harding's husband and the brains behind the attack against Kerrigan, Jeff Gillooly.
"'I, Tonya' is far from your typical biopic, and it's all the better for it. Buoyed by sharp, fun storytelling and Oscar-worthy performances, it's exactly the type of movie this story deserved," wrote CultureMap's Alex Bentley.
Courtesy Twentieth Century Fox
Mark Watney (Matt Damon) is a botanist and a member of the Ares III mission to Mars. When a storm separates him from his crew, he's left behind and must figure out a way to survive on the red planet alone. Stan plays one of the crew members.
"Despite being marketed under the mainstream bait of a 'space movie,' 'The Martian' is, more than anything, a love letter to science, without ever feeling like a boring textbook," wrote Complex's Kristen Yoonsoo Kim.
A24
In "A Different Man," Stan plays a man named Edward who has the genetic condition neurofibromatosis. After he gets surgery to "fix" himself, he becomes obsessed with an actor named Oswald (played by Adam Pearson, who actually does have this condition), who is going to play Edward in a play based on his life.
LA Weekly's Erin Maxwell wrote, "Although 'A Different Man' will confound many with its bleak twists and polarizing take on humanity, Stan's performance in the surrealist outing is stellar."
Fingerprint Releasing; Bleecker Street
Channing Tatum and Adam Driver costar as the Logan brothers who devise a plot to rob a NASCAR speedway, but, in classic Steven Soderbergh style, there are many twists and turns along the way. Stan plays a NASCAR driver, Dayton White.
"A singular filmmaker returns from a cinematic sabbatical in qualified triumph. We're lucky to have him," wrote Donald Clarke of The Irish Times.
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
After Thanos dusts half the universe, the original six Avengers (along with some new allies) go on a "time heist" through their own past to find all six Infinity Stones and return all their lost loved ones to the present.
"The only complaint about 'Avengers: Endgame' is that it raises the bar so high that there may well never be a superhero movie to match it," wrote Matthew Norman of the London Evening Standard.