Sebastian Stan “desperately wanted” to play Captain Kirk in ‘Star Trek’.

Long before he joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as James ‘Bucky’ Barnes, the 42-year-old actor revealed he had auditioned for the main role in J.J. Abrams’ 2009 sci-fi reboot and got “really close” to landing the part before Chris Pine ultimately signed on the dotted line.

During an appearance on the ‘Happy Sad Confused’ podcast, Stan said: “Captain Kirk for J.J. Abrams; that was one of the first I got very close to.

“I remember I was really, really close, and I remember I had a screen test with [Abrams] at Paramount, and my manager had me do a separate photo shoot where I would try and replicate all these William Shatner pictures just to send to him, see how much I looked like him, but I didn’t get it.”

As well as ‘Star Trek’, Stan also revealed he had auditioned for the leading role in 2011’s ‘Green Lantern’, though admitted he knew the part likely would be won by someone else as he was up against stiff competition.

He recalled: “‘Green Lantern’ was another that I screen tested for.

“I remember getting there, and it was like me, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, Ryan Reynolds and maybe one other person, and I’m looking at these guys going, ‘There’s no way this is happening!’

“But you come close, and it wouldn’t happen, and in a way, I gotta tell you, looking back, I’m almost glad it didn’t. Because I don’t know if I could have handled that level of attention like some of those guys.”

Stan will be reprising his role as Bucky Barnes in ‘Thunderbolts*’, and previously said he was “excited” to be returning to the MCU after being absent from the franchise since 2021’s Disney+ show ‘The Falcon and the Winter Soldier’.

‘The Apprentice’ actor - who will star opposite Florence Pugh, David Harbour and Wyatt Russell in the 2025 flick - told Variety in January: “I'm excited. I'm going to go back in a month or so. I've missed it. It's a great cast.”