Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones at the premiere of 'Fresh'. Image Source: THR

Sebastian Stan spoke with RadioTimes recently about how he prepared for his role as Steve in "Fresh," in which he co-stars with Daisy Edgar-Jones from Normal People.

Sebastian Stan shared that he carried out extensive research to get into the skin of the character, who is a serial killer. He said that he had a great acting coach, Larry Moss, who helped him to understand the character, and later he went ahead and started reading all the books related to narcissism, bipolar disorder, and multiple personality disorder to understand the depth of Steve.

Sebastian further mentioned that while he was reading and researching narcissism, it was the trait of extreme narcissism that helped him, but he also saw a lot of documentaries related to serial killers, including Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and every possible serial killer in the last three decades to play Steve for "Fresh".

The actor shared that he was introduced to Dr. Dorothy Lewis, who also really helped him by giving him a detailed look into the minds of serial killer characters. He had watched a documentary called "Crazy, Not Insane" by Alex Gibney that focused on Dorothy Lewis, and that’s how he got to meet her. Sebastian Stan shared that Dr. Dorothy Lewis had interviewed a lot of these (serial killer) kinds of people, and he sent her the script, and she, with her experience and expertise, narrowed a lot of things down for him. They both went ahead and created a backstory for Steve’s childhood, which was very helpful for him to portray on-screen, especially when he had questions, which the backstory he created helped him to answer.

Working with Dr. Dorothy Lewis geeked Sebastian Stan out because she had seen a lot of these things very closely and he was mostly in quarantine and isolation when he was preparing for the role, so that helped him to focus on his performance and preparation. Sebastian Stan did admit that going through so much serial killer material in terms of watching documentaries, interviews, and reading about them exhausted him after a point, but all of it was a great experience for him since he enjoyed working with Mimi Cave, Daisy Edgar-Jones, and the entire crew of "Fresh".

Speaking about Sebastian Stan, who is famous for playing Bucky Barnes/The Winter Soldier in the Marvel Universe, he mentioned that he’s extremely grateful for the recent work he has been doing, including Pam and Tommy, The 355, and now Fresh, as all of these characters were different from his previous roles and he was glad that he could pull all of these out just fine. He hopes that people can understand the undercurrents and theme of "Fresh" as they continue to watch it.

Sebastian added that the Marvel Universe will always have a soft spot in his heart because he has been a part of it for almost ten years and has grown as a person as a result of the films. But at the same time, he feels that some privileges come along with this type of work, which is that it allows an individual to reinvent and move forward in life as an actor and as a human being.

A still from the movie. Image Source: Leisurebyte

In an interview with IndieWire, Sebastian Stan shared that he has become more anxious and conscious about what kind of roles to pick up next and he does not know if that's going to change or if he wants it to change. The Winter Soldier actor said that he dislikes the comfort work-wise and feels like the comfort makes an actor trapped into just doing things and he does not want that for him.

Fresh is Mimi Cave’s directorial debut and is streaming now on Hulu and received a great response from the audience and the critics, especially for the work of Sebastian Stan and Daisy Edgar-Jones. It has been described as a movie that walks a fine line between comedic appeal and cannibalistic catastrophe, intersecting various genres without harming or sacrificing the heart of the movie. The balance between the two is perfect, and the chemistry and vibe between the leading pair are endearing to witness.

Pam & Tommy and Fresh both are streaming on Hulu!