Sebastian Stan: $65K Residuals from Hot Tub Time Machine Saved Him Before Winter Soldier

Sebastian Stan has opened up about the challenges he faced in his acting career before landing one of the most iconic roles in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—the Winter Soldier. In a revealing conversation with *Vanity Fair*, Stan shared how a timely residuals check from his role in *Hot Tub Time Machine* helped pull him through a difficult financial period just before he portrayed James "Bucky" Barnes in *Captain America: The First Avenger*.

Stan played the character Blaine in the 2010 sci-fi comedy, a role that later proved to be a lifeline. Reflecting on that time, he admitted, “I was actually struggling with work. I had just gotten off the phone with my business manager, who told me I was saved by $65,000 that came in residuals from *Hot Tub Time Machine*.”

Despite being relatively unknown at the time, Stan caught the attention of Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige, who saw immense potential in him for the role of Bucky Barnes. Feige recalled, “You could see that he has so much inside him and so much behind his eyes. I’ll never forget that. I said to Stephen Broussard, who was one of the producers on *Captain America*, ‘He’s going to be a good Bucky, but he’s going to be a great Winter Soldier.’”

That decision paid off handsomely as Stan went on to reprise the role in multiple high-profile films, including *Captain America: The Winter Soldier* (2014), *Captain America: Civil War* (2016), various *Avengers* movies, and most recently, *Captain America: Brave New World*. He is also set to return as the Winter Soldier in next month’s *Thunderbolts*. With his name appearing in the cast list for *Avengers: Doomsday*, it’s clear that Sebastian Stan’s journey as Bucky Barnes is far from over.