Sebastian Stan Radio interview Part 2
Seb: Whenever someone asks me where I am from I go on youtube and show them that. But that event, that day when he was like “Citizens please!”. I always remember that very clearly. And I have this memory, I was playing outside and I saw a Dacia driving very fast and 7-8 teens in that car, they were screaming and they had the flag with a hole in the middle. This was an event, I don’t know I was afraid, being so young I did not understand what was happening. And then I saw on tv when they shot him.
Andreea: And how did you leave the country? You left to Wien first?
Seb: No, my mother left because she was a pianist and she worked there. I stayed with my grandparents and I left to Wien in 90-91. I did not know german at all. English I knew a little bit from school and..
Seb: We did not see many movies. She had some cassettes in english and when I played around the house she put them on and I was listening.
Andreea: But you did not know german?
Seb: No. I remember very clearly when I was in Wien and there was a teacher explaining to my mother that I was not a stupid child, I simply did not understand the language and they did not know what to do with me and she said “ No! My child will go to this school!
Andreea: Your mother spoke german?
Seb: Yes, a little bit but she had to learn it too.
Andreea: Why did you leave Wien?
Seb: Well I went to german school for 2 years and after that I started going to an english school where they spoke german and english too. I actually started learning more english. My mother met someone and she remarried.
Andreea: And you moved to America?
Seb: Yes, we moved to America. New York was not planned. My step-dad did not decide on New York, we were also talking about Arizona so we ended up in New York just by luck because he had to work there. We could have lived anywhere else and I always think about that because I do not know how that affected me, if I would have ended up being an actor or not. I was not planning to become an actor. When I went there I wanted to do something about astronomy.
Andreea: Oh you liked that?
Seb: Yes, science.That was it for me when I was young. I started thinking about acting when I was 15.
Andreea: How was America when you moved there?
Seb: I remember I cried a lot. I remember the night before we moved I was so scared. I was taking a shower and I was crying because I was very scared. Moving is hard when you’re young.
Andreea: And you just moved from Romania to Wien, you already made friends there.
Seb: Yes, I made friends and then I lost them. In New York we calmed when we arrived.
Seb: Yes, it was very hard.
Andreea: And it was a shock? Were the people very different in America?
Seb: It was a big shock. When you go there and you see the skyscrapers it was very different. But something happens, you go into survival mode, there’s nothing else you can do. You either adapt or you don’t. I was very young.
Andreea: You were a teenager.
Seb: Yes, you could say it was a little bit easier than moving as an adult.
Andreea: Were you a rebel teenager?
Seb: No, I was so good because my step-dad worked at the school I went to so everyone paid a lot of attention to me to be a good student.
Andreea: So you would not embarass him.
Seb: Yes, I did not have any opportunity to do that. Later when I was at University that’s something else.
Andreea: Did you have a highschool sweetheart? Boys usually fall in love during highschool.
Seb: I was very lucky because when I was 15 I met a manager. She used to tell me to go to appointments in New York for auditions and if it was ok great but if it was not that’s it no problem.
Andreea: How did she notice you?
Seb: She found me in a summer camp. And I just went to New York to auditions.
Andreea: You lived just near New York?
Seb: Yes, about 30 minutes from NY.
Andreea: So you started working and did not have time for love?
Seb: I had. I had time for love. *laughs like an angel*
Seb: No, I loved so hard. *laughs again* Now at 35 I love less.
Andreea: You were a heartbreaker? Or were you shy and waited for girls to make the first move?
Seb: No. I was shy, I was scared. To me the most important years were when I was 17-18 years old. I started being more confident and I also started thinking about Romania again because when I moved to America I did not want to tell people where I am from, I only spoke english.
Andreea: You wanted to adapt.
Seb: To adapt and if it was not for my mom that kept bugging me to speak to her in Romanian I would have forgotten it. When I was 18 I liked telling people that I am from Europe and I lived here and there.
Andreea: Oh so you were interesting?
Seb: Yes, but highschool was good.
Andreea: And until then you wanted to be named Christopher?
Seb: Yes and I was afraid of the name Sebastian because no one called me Sebastian they said Subi or Sebi and after a while I said "No, Christopher is an american name”. And I can’t believe it because if you ask me now I feel so lucky that my name is Sebastian and it is from Sebastian Bach.
Andreea: Your mother was passionate about music.
Seb: And she did not know what rhymed with Stan.
Andreea: When were you sure that your job will be acting?
Seb: At about 16-17 years old when I finished highschool and when I had to choose a university I thought a lot where I should go. I did not work until my second year of university.
Andreea: Do you think going to an Acting school is important?
Seb: Yes, It gave me an education and respect for the industry. I met someone in Russia that told me if you are an actor you are not a man because that’s not a job.
Andreea: It’s not a serious job, it’s a hobby?
Seb: Yes, exactly. Going to university I learned that acting has a history.
Andreea: Is getting a role hard? Do you go to auditions all day? What are you doing right now?
Seb: Right now it is easier and also harder. It was easier when I was young because I took any role.
Andreea: You accepted everything.
Seb: Yes because I had to work. Now it is harder, people know you, they have some expectations because they know what you can do.
Andreea: It is harder because they know you from different roles?
Seb: Yes, it’s like what can you show them that they have not seen yet?
Andreea: The Captain America, Avengers series helped you?
Seb: Of course. It helped me so much because the movies are very popular and yesterday I could not believe it when I saw so many people going to watch them. Here and in China and everywhere so many people watch the movies.
Andreea: Your role in Gossip Girl helped you build you career?
Seb: Yes, it did. It was filmed in New York and I lived there so it was perfect. I was home, I worked for about 3 years on the show and I learned a lot. I had friends on the show and I learned so much in that time period.
Andreea: Did you live again in New York after you became well known?
Seb: From my point of view Los Angeles is worse for actors, in New York you can see anyone on the street and people do not care.
Andreea: That’s what you think!
Seb: That’s what I think, I saw people more famous than me in the city.
Andreea: Can you have a girlfriend and go with her to a club or a bar?
Seb: Yes, it’s ok. I think life is how you make it. You can’t be afraid of living. The more attention you get I feel like people close themselves, they are afraid. I know other actors that are afraid of coming out of the hotel, they do not want to go to restaurants and I do not know what kind of life is this. If you are an actor you should live more, see more.
Andreea: Let’s talk a little bit about your role in I, Tonya.
Seb: It was hard. I liked the director a lot and the script was amazing.
Andreea: For those who do not know the movie is about the ice skater Tonya Harding.
Seb: It was that event and after that was OJ. OJ started the 24hrs news, that’s where CNN comes from. When you read the story you can’t believe that something like this happened.
Andreea: You didn’t remember Tonya’s story?
Seb: No. I remember I was in Wien when the thing with OJ happened and they stopped our classes.
Andreea: Is it harder to play a real character than a fictional one?
Seb: Yes, it is because you do not have any freedom on developing your character. You have to be that person and the character I played I do not know till this day if what he said was true or what happened exactly.
Andreea: Yes, after I watched the movie I kept asking myself so who was to blame? Everyone had their story.
Seb: Yes, everyone told the story from their point of view.
Andreea: Would you like to work with a romanian director for a movie one day?
Seb: Yes, of course I would like that. I like Cristian Mungiu’s movies.
Andreea: And you like Porumboiu too?
Seb: Yes, I like his movies too. Right now, when I go back to New York, on the fifth of may I’ll go see a documentary made by him. I do like this idea of working with a romanian director, but I would have to come here for a month because I still have an accent. It would be a shame to not do this if I ever have the opportunity.
Andreea: You spoke in Romanian in American films so you can speak in english in romanian ones.
Andreea: How is that thing with Ghita?
Seb: What is Ghita doing? It’s an irony.
Andreea: Yes it’s a joke.
Seb: It’s something specific for romanians I don’t know where this is from.
Andreea: Because I know you are very busy and I do not want you to be late we’ll do these 2 segments and you are free to go. The first one is back to back. We turn our backs to eachother and I start a sentence, you finish it. It’s really simple, just pay attention!
Andreea: My name could be….
