, as he is one of the rare alumni of the Marvel Cinematic Universe that has used his increased popularity to take a chance on more challenging projects. While both and have struggled to find meaningful work in the wake of the record breaking financial success of , Stan has continued to take chances on edgier projects, proving that he has significant range as an actor.

, as well as a Golden Globe win; while he has done some impressive work on television shows like and , there is still a lot of anticipation to see where he will take the character of Bucky Barnes within the next chapter of the MCU. Here are the ten best Sebastian Stan movies, ranked.

that centered on the GameStop short squeeze of 2021, in which the renegade investor Keith Gill () led a movement to turn the gaming chain into a valuable property, which ended up embarrassing Wall Street. Stan has a memorable performance as Vlad Tenev, a Bulgarian businessman who serves as the CEO of the Robinhood company.

who takes great lengths to avoid giving any benefits to those like Gill who were able to beat the system through innovative techniques. Considering that Stan is known for being one of the most charismatic actors working today, it was impressive that he was able to drop any inherent likability in order to play a completely hateable character that the film intensely criticizes.

that explores the consequences of forming close personal relationships within a challenging line of work. Stan and co-star as a pair of undercover police officers tasked with infiltrating a gang of criminals; although it's a dangerous job that exposes them to a near constant string of threats, the two begin to form a romantic relationship.

who is unfortunately forced to do some disturbing things in the name of justice, which becomes even more heartbreaking thanks to the film’s flashback structure. Considering that Kidman is widely recognized as being one of the greatest living actresses, it's impressive that Stan had such great chemistry with her, and that their relationship served as the emotional crux for a frequently disturbing film that featured some truly shocking moments of intimate violence.

, as the Academy-Award winning director managed to reframe the premise of in order to tell a humurous heist story that centered on a group of siblings attempting to stage a robbery during a NASCAR race at the Texas Motor Speedway.

as the NASCAR driver Dayton White, who undergoes an intense personal fitness regime in order to prepare himself for the races that he competes in. Although Logan Lucky is hooghly satirical of southern culture, Stan was able to give a legitimately fleshed out performance that didn’t feel like a caricature at all; as idiosyncratic as he is, White is actually one of the few characters in Logan Lucky that does not have a lot of dirt on his hands.

and one of the few that actually received an Academy Award nomination for Best Picture. won the Oscar for Best Actress for her career-defining performance as the talented ballerina Nina, who is forced to cope with her own dark side when she is cast as the lead in an ambitious production of Swan Lake.

as Andrew, a young suitor who begins to flirt with Nina when she is in the midst of rehearsals. This helps the film reach its message about how it can be impossible to live a life of normalcy when one is so completely dedicated to their art; the fact that Nina is denied any pleasures is made even more upsetting when considering how charismatic, kind, and understanding Andrew is within the few moments i which Stan and Portman are given the opportunity to interact.

, and features in an Academy Award nominated performance as a former addict who has to re-enter her family life as she prepares for the impending marriage of her sister. Stan co-stars as a fellow addict whom she befriends when they are in recovery together.

, and is an acclaimed auteur who is known for telling highly humanistic, personal stories. Stan is able to give his character a sense of tragedy and personability that wouldn’t have been possible had the film been made by a lesser director; despite the brevity of his scenes, Stan helps to craft the compassionate portrayal of recovery and therapy that is so critical to the success that Rachel Getting Married has.

, as he plays a cannibal that holds a young woman () captive in his enigmatic retreat. The brilliance of Fresh is that the first half of the film is structured like a romantic comedy, and only reveals its dark twist after the two protagonists have already fallen for each other.

, as he is able to make the transition from being charismatic to creepy very effective, and completely in line with the very specific vision that had in mind. Although it is fun to see him act a bit looser during the early scenes that are devoid of tension, Stan was able to fully transform into a monster by the very end, showing a degree of bravery that is often absent among his contemporaries.

, but the installment in the MCU that did the most with the character of Bucky. Although Bucky’s friendship with Steve Rogers was well-established in , the reveal that he has been brainwashed and turned into an assassin leads to one of the most complex relationships in the franchise.

, all of which are relatively absent within the other installments in the franchise. Although Stan would eventually appear in several other great installments in the MCU in the years to come, Captain America: The Winter Soldier is the film that solidified Bucky’s place among the best characters that and Marvel Studios had ever brought to life.

that examines the controversial story of Tonya Harding (), an Olympic figure skater who was involved in a controversy when one of her chief rivals was attacked and injured. Stan stars as Harding’s husband, Jeff, who is both physically abusive to her and encourages the eventual criminal conspiracy that turns them both into subjects of ridicule by the media.

, as Jeff’s initial interest in Harding eventually subsides when he is revealed to be completely insecure and incompetent. Although the film is able to show how ridiculously inept Jeff was when he teamed up with his friend Shawn (), Stan is able to remind the audience of how terrifying it was for Harding to live with such a cruel partner.

A Different Man is a brilliant work of social satire that explores how personality and self-image contribute to the way that a person is perceived. Stan stars as a chronically depressed man with neurofibromatosis who is somehow “cured,” only to find that the stranger Oswald (Adam Pearson), who has the same condition, is able to achieve all the things that he had ever hoped for.

A Different Man examines how hard it can be to break out of one’s social circles, and shows that self-projection is often more important than a physical appearance. Stan’s performance managed to be tragic, detestable, relatable, hilarious, and scary all at once; it earned him a very deserving Golden Globe win for Best Actor in a Motion Picture- Comedy/Musical, as well as the prestigious Silver Bear acting prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.

The Apprentice is one of the bravest American films in years, as it tackled the origin story of how the ruthless conservative lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) helped teach a young Donald Trump the lessons he needed to become one of the most powerful real estate moguls in New York City. In tragic fashion, Trump takes these lessons to become a power hungry, abusive titan of industry that leaves Cohn out to dry when he is dying of AIDS.

Stan is able to completely transform into Trump without feeling like an impersonator, as the film tracks how the future President of the United States crafted a personality that would make him such a media sensation. While the conclusions that the film reaches are disturbing, Stan’s performance is pitch perfect, and rightfully earned him the first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in his career.

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