Sebastian Stan is everywhere these days.
Fresh off of an Academy Award nomination for “The Apprentice” and a Golden Globe win for “A Different Man,” the 42-year-old will soon star in the upcoming Marvel flick “Thunderbolts*.”
Stan has appeared in 11 films and and 5 TV series since 2020. But the actor hasn’t always been in such high demand. Indeed, in a recent Vanity Fair profile Stan said that there was a point not too long ago when he was struggling financially.
Stan explained that until he was cast as Bucky Barnes in 2011’s “Captain America: The First Avenger,” landing a gig was difficult.
“I was actually struggling with work,” he said.
But financial salvation came from an unexpected place: a raunchy comedy he had starred in the year before.
“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,'” he said.
Since being cast as Bucky, Stan has gone on to reprise the role more than 10 times, becoming a household name in the process.
Stan isn’t the only Marvel star to struggle financially before his big break. Josh Brolin, who portrayed the villain Thanos, said last year that he struggled to work consistently for decades, adding that he was “always the one that was paid the least” on a movie set.
In 2007, Brolin appeared in Ridley Scott’s hit “American Gangster” and “No Country for Old Men,” which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The two roles would turn his fortunes around, both in terms of landing steady acting work, as well as financially.
But between shooting the films and their release, Brolin said he was “broke.” Most of his money had gone to paying off debts he had accrued, and “whatever money I did make went back into family stuff.” He had no jobs lined up and had taken home just $30,000 from his time on “No Country.”
“I was in a panic at that point,” he said. But then he received a call from his lawyer. “She was like, ‘Guess what, you got some backend [pay] from ‘American Gangster.'”
She sent him the number, which he read as $60,000. After taxes and fees, he would be taking home “maybe 25 grand,” a number he called “amazing.”
“I called her and I was like ‘I can’t believe this. Sixty grand. That’s amazing,'” he recalled. “And she said ‘Look at it again.’ And I had missed a zero. I started bawling. I started crying. It just made no sense to me. It was winning the lottery. I could never act again and live for the rest of my life off of $600,000. At that point in my life, I could make $600,000 last five lifetimes.”
Want a new career that’s higher-paying, more flexible or fulfilling? Take CNBC’s new online course How to Change Careers and Be Happier at Work. Expert instructors will teach you strategies to network successfully, revamp your resume and confidently transition into your dream career. Start today and use coupon code EARLYBIRD for an introductory discount of 30% off $67 (+taxes and fees) through May 13, 2025.
Plus, sign up for CNBC Make It’s newsletter to get tips and tricks for success at work, with money and in life.
