Sebastian Stan began his acting career in the early 2000s showing tremendous emotional and physical range. He showed poise in his varied roles, whether kicking back with Captain America and Black Widow, dealing with the drama of privileged teenagers, or bringing The Mad Hatter to modern times. Born in Romania in 1982, Stan lived there with his mother until they moved to New York in 1994. He was taken by the stage at a young age, appearing in numerous school productions before eventually attending Rutgers University's Mason Gross School of the Arts for acting. While still attending school, Stan got his professional start on "Law & Order" (NBC 1990-2010) in 2003. He also appeared in a few independent films, most notably "Tony n' Tina's Wedding" (2004) and "Red Doors" (2005). Graduating from Rutgers, he almost immediately filmed the drama "The Architect" (2006) and the supernatural thriller "The Covenant" (2006). His first breakthrough came with a recurring role on the teen drama "Gossip Girl" (CW 2007-2012), followed by a small role in Jonathan Demme's family drama "Rachel Getting Married" (2008). He then joined the cast of the short-lived alternate-reality drama "Kings" (NBC 2009). The disappointment of that series' swift cancellation was tempered by key supporting roles in the critically-acclaimed drama "Black Swan" (2010) and the cult-favorite comedy "Hot Tub Time Machine" (2010). After he appeared as Captain America's sidekick Bucky Barnes in "Captain America: The First Avenger" (2011), Stan co-starred in the Washington D.C.-based miniseries "Political Animals" (USA 2012) and the film "Gone" (2012). He also appeared as The Mad Hatter in several episodes of the fantasy "Once Upon a Time" (ABC 2011- ) before reprising his role as Bucky in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" (2014).