Den of Geek: What were your first impressions of Lance when you read the script?
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Sebastian Stan: Oh, man.
Well, I was just laughing, really out loud, with my friend.
And I just kept quoting the movie over and over again.
Usually when something sticks in my brain that prominently, I take that as a good sign.
And I was a fan of (director) Bryan Buckley.
So it was a pretty done deal for me at that point.
Had you worked with Melissa before?
No, I didnt.
Shes also extremely different playing Hope.
It just shows you how she disappears sort of in her roles.
But yeah, I think shes really, really talented.
What did you find in Lance that you could emphasize with?
I think this movie was not afraid to show those flaws of these characters.
They are just so witty and off the cuff.
Fortunately, Bryan was just so encouraging for me to just kind of go out there.
To me, its a lot about taking risks and staying fearless.
I think thats a big basis of what improv is.
Did you look into the whole gymnastics culture?
I did, yeah.
Im like, just who were the guys?
Who were the people that inspire the others?
And I got to see them out and about in life with their friends.
You know what I mean?
So just kind of little things like that that would give me an idea of who the guy is.
What do you think the movie says about celebrity culture?
I think it says a lot.
Look at Peyton Manning.
I think football players deal with it a lot.
But yes, our industry certainly has a fair share of it.
I think the idea is that there is a dark side to success.
There is definitely an underbelly underneath all the glamour and success that is quite taxing on people.
Their careers kind of come to an end around 25, 27 years old.
Youre not even a man really at that point.
But they learn the reward centers in their brain and so on.
What happens when the training is done and you go home?
What happens when your body gives out and you are not able to compete like you used to?
Weve certainly seen that be a tragic sort of movie with a lot of different celebrities.
So thats all part of the film.
I dont think Ive shook anyones hand that was like that, fortunately.
Is this peculiarly American, this punch in of culture?
To me it seems it is.
To me it seems so.
Think of the world of arm wrestling.
Just competition period I think is different here than it is in Europe.
Its the idea of better, stronger, faster.
When is it enough?
Is it enough that you won a gold or is there something else after?
You know, theres got to be something better.
I want to be stronger.
I want to be faster.
Lets talk about the sex scene in the movie.
It was obviously a show stopper.
How was that done?
Were there doubles involved?
Bryan allowed me to do, I want to say, about 80% of it.
It was a lot of fun.
It was also one of the first scenes I shot.
So it was like, Well, I guess Im going to get to know the crew right now.
I was close to everyone after that.
I imagine its probably what shooting a porn would be like.
Youre really self-conscious about every single angle and on what camera that may end up, so to speak.
And that was what we were going for.
My wife and I were watching and I noticed shes laughing.
She said, Did you ever hear about the joke: how do gymnasts fuck?
I guess thats it.
That would be it!
You are like, My god.
Who knows what is possible for them?
Thats what the scene asks, is what would it be like?
Im going to ask you a couple general questions aboutCivil War.
Did you find that to be the case?
That is really the truth.
But its definitely a Captain America movie.
Most of your stuff in the last movie was with Chris and Scarlett.
Was it fun for you to start interacting with more of the other members of the family?
I mean some of them I didnt work with.
But its really like a family.
Some of those guys, including Chris, theyve done these characters way more than me.
Ive only had three movies at it.
And every time I do it I discover something new about my character.
Like some other thing will pop in my head and Ill go, Wow.
I didnt think about that before.
I mean theyre all just…they are just all great guys.
So theres a good experience with them.
Were you surprised with Buckys arc in this film, where he starts and where he maybe ends up?
Im always surprised because I never know where they are going to take it.
I never know where they are going to take the story.
So Ive learned at this point to not really have expectations when I read the scripts.
Im just kind of pleasantly surprised.
I knew this was a massive movie.
And it was much more of a relief to me, like, Oh, cool.
Im in there enough.
Ive got more than one scene.
But yeah, its always a surprise.
Are you in theAvengers: Infinity Warmovies?
I dont know yet.
I havent been told.
I have no idea where Ill fit into any of that.
Whats next for you immediately after doing press for this one?
Ill have to think about how to tell what the story is about maybe next time.
The Bronzeopened on Friday (March 18) and is out now in theaters.
