Aaron Stanford

Last updated

Aaron Stanford
Aaron Stanford - Nikita (cropped).jpg
Stanford at 2013 Comic-Con
Born (1976-12-27) December 27, 1976 (age 47)
Education
OccupationActor
Years active2001–present

Aaron Stanford (born December 27, 1976) is an American actor known for his roles as Pyro in X2 , X-Men: The Last Stand and Deadpool & Wolverine , and Doug in the 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes . From 2010 to 2013, he starred as Birkhoff in Nikita . He has also starred as James Cole on the television series 12 Monkeys , based on the 1995 film of the same name.

Contents

Early life and education

Stanford was born in Westford, Massachusetts, the son of Judith (née Dupras), an English professor, and Don Stanford, who works in publishing. His brother David is a musician. Stanford attended Westford Academy in Westford Massachusetts for high school and met his first acting teacher there. He initially attended SUNY Purchase, but transferred to Rutgers University Mason Gross School of Arts. He graduated in 2000, magna cum laude. [1] [2]

Career

Stanford's first major film role was in the low-budget indie film Tadpole (2002), in which he portrays Oscar Grubman, a precocious 15-year-old with a crush on his stepmother, played by Sigourney Weaver. For this performance he earned a nomination for the Golden Satellite Award. In 2001 and 2002 he appeared multiple times on the television series Third Watch as Russian teen Sergei. In the same year he was named as one of Daily Variety's "Top Ten Actors to Watch" and included on Entertainment Weekly's "It List". In 2004 he appeared in Christopher Shinn's play Where Do We Live at the Vineyard Theatre. Stanford also starred as Anthony LaPaglia's son in the 2004 film Winter Solstice .

Director Bryan Singer was impressed with Stanford's performance in Tadpole , and cast him as Pyro in the 2003 blockbuster X2 , a sequel to X-Men . He continued the role in the third installment, X-Men: The Last Stand , released in May 2006. Both movies are based on the Marvel Comics series X-Men . Stanford is set to reprise the role of Pyro in the 2024 Marvel Studios film Deadpool & Wolverine . Stanford also starred in ABC's midseason replacement Traveler , a drama about two friends who believe they are set up by their good friend (Stanford) in order to make them look like the conspirators of a terrorist attack.

Stanford appeared in the 2006 remake of Wes Craven's The Hills Have Eyes . He also won the "One To Watch" award at the 2006 Young Hollywood Awards. And in that same year, he starred in the New Hampshire–based comedy, Live Free or Die , playing a wannabe tough-guy criminal named John Rudgate. Aaron also was the voice actor for Pvt. Polonsky in Call of Duty: World at War . In 2009, he played a troubled poker genius in a season eight episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent , as well as Horace Cook Jr. in an episode of AMC's acclaimed show Mad Men . In 2010, he joined the CW's Nikita as Birkhoff. His character from the film The Hills Have Eyes appears in the 2012 video game Call of Duty: Black Ops II via Zombies Mode.

Stanford played the lead role of James Cole in the television adaptation of the movie 12 Monkeys, which premiered January 2015 on Syfy. He also was cast in the AMC series Fear the Walking Dead [3] as the recurring character Jim, first appearing in the episode that aired on August 26, 2018.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002 Tadpole Oscar GrubmanNominated—Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical—Satellite Award
Hollywood Ending Actor
25th Hour Marcuse
2003 X2 John Allerdyce / Pyro
Rick Duke
2004 Winter Solstice Gabe Winters
Spartan Michael Blake
2005 Runaway Michael Adler
Standing Still Rich
2006 The Hills Have Eyes Doug BukowskiBloodiest Beatdown—Fangoria Chainsaw Award
Live Free or Die John "Rugged" Rudgate
X-Men: The Last Stand John Allerdyce / Pyro
2007 Flakes Neal Downs
The Cake Eaters Dwight "Beagle" Kimbrough
2008Holy MoneyAnthony
How I Got Lost Andrew PetersonNY Emerging Talent Award—Big Apple Film Festival
2016We’ve Forgotten More Than We Ever KnewDaniel
2017Furthest WitnessKyle Braddock
Clinical Miles Richardson
2020 Horse Girl Hades
2023 Finestkind Skeemo
2024 Deadpool & Wolverine John Allerdyce / Pyro

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2001–02 Third Watch Sergei5 episodes
2007 Traveler Will Traveler8 episodes
Numb3rs Brett ChandlerEpisode: "Hollywood Homicide"
2009 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Josh SnowEpisode: "All In"
Mad Men Horace Cook Jr.Episode: "The Arrangements"
Fear Itself StephenEpisode: "Echoes"
2010–13 Nikita Seymour Birkhoff / Lionel PellerMain role, 64 episodes
2015–18 12 Monkeys James ColeLead role, 47 episodes
2016 Comedy Bang! Bang! Tom Holtby / Johnny Appleseed 2 episodes
2018 Fear the Walking Dead Jim Brauer6 episodes
2020 Perry Mason George Gannon4 episodes
2022 Westworld Peter Myers2 episodes
2023 Star Trek: Picard SneedEpisode: "Disengage"

Video games

YearTitleVoice roleNotes
2008 Call of Duty: World at War Private Polonsky

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deadpool</span> Character appearing in Marvel Comics

Deadpool is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in New Mutants #98. In his comic book appearances, Deadpool is initially depicted as a supervillain of the New Mutants and X-Force, though later stories would portray him as an antihero. Deadpool is the alter ego of Wade Wilson, a disfigured Canadian mercenary with superhuman regenerative healing abilities. He is known for his tendency to joke incessantly and break the fourth wall for humorous effect.

<i>X2</i> (film) 2003 film by Bryan Singer

X2 is a 2003 American superhero film directed by Bryan Singer and written by Michael Dougherty, Dan Harris and David Hayter, from a story by Singer, Hayter and Zak Penn. The film is based on the X-Men superhero team appearing in Marvel Comics. It is the sequel to X-Men (2000), as well as the second installment in the X-Men film series, and features an ensemble cast including Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn-Stamos, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Bruce Davison, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Kelly Hu, and Anna Paquin. The plot, inspired by the graphic novel God Loves, Man Kills, concerns the genocidal Colonel William Stryker leading an assault on Professor Xavier's school to build his own version of Xavier's mutant-tracking computer, Cerebro, in order to destroy every mutant on Earth and to save the human race from them, forcing the X-Men to team up with the Brotherhood of Mutants to stop Stryker and save the mutant race.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pyro (Marvel Comics)</span> Marvel Comics character

Pyro is the name of two fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics.

<i>X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men</i> Television pilot

X-Men: Pryde of the X-Men is an animated television pilot originally broadcast in 1989 on the Marvel Action Universe television block, featuring Marvel Comics' mutant superheroes of the X-Men. The pilot aired infrequently in syndication and was later released on video. It later served as the basis for Konami's X-Men arcade game.

Weapon X is a fictional government genetic research facility project appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. They were conducted by Department K, which turned willing and unwilling beings into living weapons to carry out covert missions like assassination or eliminating potential threats to the government. It was similar to human enhancement experiments in the real world, but it captured mutants and did experiments on them to enhance their abilities such as superpowers, turning them into human weapons. They also mutated baseline humans. The Weapon X Project produced Wolverine, Leech, Deadpool, Sabretooth, and Weapon H.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Ashmore</span> Canadian actor (born 1979)

Shawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian actor. He is known for his roles as Bobby Drake / Iceman in the X-Men film series, Jake in the television series Animorphs, Agent Mike Weston in the television drama series The Following, Eric in the horror film The Ruins, Sam Spencer in the ABC series Conviction, Wesley Evers in the ABC series The Rookie, and Lamplighter in the Amazon Prime Video superhero series The Boys. Ashmore also plays the main character, Jack Joyce, in the 2016 video game Quantum Break, as well as Conrad in 2019's Man of Medan. He is the identical twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.

<i>X-Men: The Last Stand</i> 2006 film by Brett Ratner

X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film based on the X-Men comic books published by Marvel Entertainment Group. It is the sequel to X2, as well as the third installment in the X-Men film series, and was directed by Brett Ratner. It features an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Anna Paquin, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones, and Patrick Stewart. Written by Simon Kinberg and Zak Penn, the film is loosely based on two X-Men comic book story arcs, "Gifted" and "The Dark Phoenix Saga", with a plot that revolves around a "mutant cure" that causes serious repercussions among mutants and humans, and on the resurrection of Jean Grey who unleashes a dark force.

<i>X-Men Origins: Wolverine</i> 2009 superhero film by Gavin Hood

X-Men Origins: Wolverine is a 2009 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics fictional character Wolverine. It is the fourth installment of the X-Men film series, the first installment of the Wolverine trilogy within the series, and a spin-off/prequel to X-Men (2000) and X2 (2003). The film was directed by Gavin Hood, written by David Benioff and Skip Woods, and produced by Hugh Jackman, who stars as the titular character, alongside Liev Schreiber, Danny Huston, Dominic Monaghan, and Ryan Reynolds. The film's plot details Wolverine's childhood as James Howlett, his time with Major William Stryker's Team X, the bonding of Wolverine's skeleton with the indestructible metal adamantium during the Weapon X program and his relationship with his half-brother Victor Creed.

The Blackbird is a fictional jet aircraft appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Chris Claremont and artist Dave Cockrum, the aircraft first appeared in X-Men #94. The Blackbird concept has survived multiple redesigns over the years. It is used primarily by the X-Men as a personal transport vehicle.

X-Men is an American superhero film series based on the Marvel Comics superhero team of the same name. 20th Century Fox obtained the film rights to the team and other related characters in 1994 for $2.6 million. After numerous drafts, Bryan Singer was hired to direct the first film, released in 2000, and its sequel, X2 (2003), while the third installment of the original trilogy, X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), was directed by Brett Ratner.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wolverine in other media</span> Depictions of the Marvel Comics character in media

Wolverine is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is one of the few X-Men characters to be included in every media adaptation of the X-Men franchise, including film, television, cartoons, anime, and podcasts.

This is a list of all non-comics media appearances of the Marvel Comics character Professor X.

This is a list of all media appearances of the Marvel Comics character Cyclops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gambit in other media</span> Appearances of Gambit in cinema, television and video games

This is a list of non-comics media appearances of Gambit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">X-Men in other media</span> Overview of X-Men in other media

The X-Men are a fictional superhero team created by Marvel Comics that appear in comic books and other forms of media.

<i>Deadpool & Wolverine</i> Upcoming Marvel Studios film

Deadpool & Wolverine is an upcoming American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics characters Deadpool and Wolverine, produced by Marvel Studios, Maximum Effort, and 21 Laps Entertainment, and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. It is intended to be the 34th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and a sequel to Deadpool (2016) and Deadpool 2 (2018). The film is directed by Shawn Levy from a screenplay he wrote with Ryan Reynolds, Rhett Reese, Paul Wernick, and Zeb Wells. Reynolds and Hugh Jackman star as Deadpool and Wolverine, respectively, alongside Emma Corrin, Morena Baccarin, Rob Delaney, Leslie Uggams, Karan Soni, and Matthew Macfadyen. In the film, the Time Variance Authority (TVA) pull Deadpool from his quiet life and set him on a mission that will change the history of the MCU with Wolverine.

Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is a group of American superhero films and television series produced by Marvel Studios based on characters that appear in publications by Marvel Comics. Phase Five features all of the Marvel Studios productions set to be released starting from 2023 to mid-2025, with Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures distributing the films, while the series release on Disney+. Animation in the phase was produced by Marvel Studios Animation. The first film in the phase is Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which was released in February 2023, while the first series in the phase, Secret Invasion, premiered in June 2023. The release schedule of Phase Five was changed several times due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Kevin Feige produces every film and serves as executive producer of every series in this phase, alongside producers Stephen Broussard for Quantumania; Ryan Reynolds, Shawn Levy, and Lauren Shuler Donner for Deadpool & Wolverine; and Nate Moore and Malcolm Spellman for Captain America: Brave New World.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wade Wilson (film character)</span> X-Men film series and Marvel Cinematic Universe character

Wade Winston Wilson, also known as Deadpool, is a fictional character portrayed by Ryan Reynolds in 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series and later the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise produced by Marvel Studios. Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name by Fabian Nicieza and Rob Liefeld, he was heavily adapted for his first appearance in X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009) by writers Skip Woods and David Benioff. In the film, he is depicted as a mercenary who initially joins Col. William Stryker's mutant ops group "Team X". Upon leaving the group over disagreeing with Stryker's moral stance against mutants, he is captured and transformed into a genetically altered mutant killer known as Weapon XI, who proceeds to fight and be killed by former teammate James Howlett / Wolverine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Logan (film character)</span> X-Men film series and Marvel Cinematic Universe character

James "Jimmy" Howlett, also known as Logan or by his codename, Wolverine, is a fictional character originating as the primary protagonist of 20th Century Fox's X-Men film series, and appearing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) media franchise produced by Marvel Studios. He is portrayed by Hugh Jackman and based on the Marvel Comics character Wolverine, created by Roy Thomas, Len Wein and John Romita Sr.

References

  1. "Shawn-Ashmore.com // The Ashmore Archives". Archived from the original on January 27, 2015. Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  2. "Search Results" . Retrieved August 31, 2016.
  3. Surette, Tim (July 20, 2018). "Fear the Walking Dead Adds 12 Monkeys' Aaron Stanford". TV Guide. Archived from the original on November 13, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2022.