Fans around the world can’t wait for Capitan America: The Winter Soldier (in theaters on April 4). I was one of the lucky journalists that has seen the film and I am sure that nobody will be disappointing.

A key element in this sequel is the new character mentioned in the title. It is not a spoiler to say that behind the masked killing machines is Bucky Barnes, Steve Rogers’ friend that fell from a train in “Captain America: The First Avenger.”

Sebastian Stan sat down with Desde Hollywood to talk about his career, this project, his future in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and more.

You were born in Romania. Do you have ties to the country?

Stan: I have my grandparents over there. It’s hard because I don’t get to see them that often. The place has changed a lot since I was born and it’s a whole different place now but I want to get more educated and familiar with the country again now that I’m starting to have more possibilities to go there.

Across your filmography there are many projects with fantasy elements. Is that pure coincidence?

Stan: It was coincidental because for most of my acting career I was never in a place where I could select and choose. There’s a lot of things I got to work on which I’m very proud of but there’s a lot of other things that you take on because you needed a job.

Some people say it’s easy to adapt a comic book because “everything is in there.” For your character, what was the main thing that you couldn’t get from the comics?

Stan: That’s a great question. I would say one thing was that he needed to be a very realistic threat, much more dangerous and unpredictable, which I only discovered when I was doing the movie. I couldn’t really have seen that in the comics. The comic books do such a good job dealing with him when he’s at very different stages of remembering or not remembering and so, but when he’s initially introduced: how is he an assassin? I discovered that when shooting the movie.

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I guess one of the challenges was to look like a lethal opponent in front of Captain America. At any point during training, did you say to Chris something like “Take it easy because you look huge!” [laughs]

Stan: There were so other things to think about, that was one of my last. I didn’t have to worry because I felt very confident in the way that I looked, in terms of the costume. I knew the costume was phenomenal and the character looked like a badass so I never worried that much.

Compared to the first movie, this is a more complex world, full of intrigue and deception. Did you notice those “Tom Clancyesque” elements right away when you read the script?

Stan: It was very clear early on that they had a very specific goal and color for the film in the way that they wanted to present the sequel. I remember that I had to re-read certain things because it was very smart, the whole movie was clever.

Do you think that kids will be able to get all of that or that they will need to re-watch this movie in the future?

Stan: That’s the thing with all the Marvel movies, there’s always something more to watch in the future. You can always watch the movie multiple times and find out new clues and information that you didn’t pick up the first time. The movie is designed so it does serve younger kids as well as older audiences. The kids know the characters, the storyline; it’s got all those action sequences and visually is a very entertaining movie. And then for the people who want to think a little bit more about it, the movie serves them that way as well.

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What do you do between takes when you have Robert Redford in front of you? Do you go casual like “how was your weekend?” or you ask him about his career?

Stan: I was asking him questions about the 1959’s, the 60’s, about theater, I asked him about Paul Newman, about Natalie Wood. I asked him about anything I could come up with. You don’t always get that opportunity to be on set with somebody like that and the great thing about it is that he was actually looking forward to it, he was very open and very generous. You never know if people want to sit down and talk all the time, but he was more than kind.

In “The Avengers” we see the heroes fighting and measuring up against each other. How do you think The Winter Soldier would do against Ironman, Thor or Hulk?

Stan: I had all those battles played in my head because in the comic books he faces off some of those guys but it’d be really interesting. I guess Iron Man would be tough because he has an entire suit or armor and I only have one arm to work with. But I think I could still be a worthy opponent.

Don Cheadle was in Ironman 2 but he wasn’t part of “The Avengers.” Now they are shooting the sequel. How do you feel about not being invited to ‘the big party’?

Stan: I just think I’ve been pretty good about waiting for my time. But I also know that when my time’s come it all turns out well. I think the story of The Winter Soldier is just being developed and I think we’re at the point where we’re kind of scratching the surface. I really have no idea how it’s gonna go forward; I just know that when the time is right, I’m sure I’ll be invited to the party.

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“After the cataclysmic events in New York with The Avengers, Marvel’s “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” finds Steve Rogers, aka Captain America, living quietly in Washington, D.C. and trying to adjust to the modern world. But when a S.H.I.E.L.D. colleague comes under attack, Steve becomes embroiled in a web of intrigue that threatens to put the world at risk. Joining forces with the Black Widow, Captain America struggles to expose the ever-widening conspiracy while fighting off professional assassins sent to silence him at every turn. When the full scope of the villainous plot is revealed, Captain America and the Black Widow enlist the help of a new ally, the Falcon. However, they soon find themselves up against an unexpected and formidable enemy—the Winter Soldier.”

Captain America: The Winter Soldier arrives in theaters April 4, 2014.