Date of Birth

27 December 1976, Westford, Massachusetts, USA

Birth Name

Aaron A. Stanford

Height

5' 7½" (1.71 m)

Mini Biography

An actor who consistently brings intensity and intelligence to his work, Aaron Stanford is poised to become one of the foremost talents of his generation.

Aaron received critical acclaim for his feature film debut in _Tadpole_ opposite Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth. Since that breakout performance, he has continued to tackle a variety of roles including: "Gabe Winter" in Winter Solstice (2004) (for which he received the "Rising Star of Tomorrow" Award at The 2004 Hamptons Film Festival) opposite Anthony LaPaglia; and supporting roles in David Mamet's Spartan (2004), Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending (2002) and Spike Lee's 25th Hour (2002).

He can be seen reprising his role as "Pyro" from X2: X-Men United (2003) in Fox's X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), the conclusion to the blockbuster trilogy. The film opens around the world on May 26th. He was recently seen in Alexandre Aja's remake of Wes Craven's thriller, The Hills Have Eyes (2006).

He was in production on The Cake Eaters (2007), Mary Stuart Masterson's feature directorial debut. Aaron stars opposite Jayce Bartok and Kristen Stewart. Aaron plays Beagle, an oddball character who falls for the gravely ill Georgia (Stewart).

He also starred in three independent films: Runaway (2005), opposite Robin Tunney, which he also produced, and which was an official selection at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival; Flakes (2007) opposite Zooey Deschanel for Indigent Pictures and director Michael Lehmann; and, Live Free or Die (2006) (which premiered at the South By Southwest Film Festival) opposite Paul Schneider.

Aaron wrapped production on ABC and Warner Bros. Television's pilot _Traveler_, where he plays the title role of Will Traveler. The show just got mid-season pick-up and began shooting in July.

Aaron began his career with an intense focus in stage performance, beginning with local theater in his Massachusetts hometown and continuing with work at the London Academy of Theatre. He returned to the stage in 2004 to star in the Vineyard Theatre's off-Broadway production of "Where Do We Live?", for which once again, he received rave reviews.

A graduate of Rutgers University, Aaron resides in Los Angeles when not on location.

Trivia

• He graduated from Rutgers University
• Trained at the London Academy of Theatre
• Older brother David Stanford is a composer.
• Dad is a Publishing Executive
• Mum is a English Professer
• Named as one of the top "10 Actors to watch" by Variety in 2002. Included on Entertainment Weekly's "it list" in 2002.
• Enjoys Photography and playing cards.
• Wrote a play, titled "Arles".
• Attended the State University of New York before transferring to Rutgers University.
• Stayed in contact with co-star Anna Paquin (Rogue) after filiming X2: X-Men United (2003).
• Just finished filming X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), due to be released in 2006. [December 2005]
• His maternal grandfather was of French-Canadian descent. His other ancestry is English, German, and distant Irish and Welsh.

Quotes

• I do not consider myself famous... I don't get recognized when I go out anywhere. I consider myself a blue-collar actor, just chugging away. If I am able to continue to work and maintain a certain degree of privacy, I would be very happy.
• As far as my choices go, it's the same answer I give to what attracted me to this script. I try to pick characters that I find interesting and complex and that I feel I can bring something of myself to. There's also the reality of what's available to me and what I'm offered and what I can do. Interview, 2007.
• [interview with AMC-TV, June 2011] My life has been the antithesis of that book "The Secret". I've always been interested in doing what I do. I love storytelling and I really enjoyed acting, but it never seemed like a realistic thing. So I always told myself, "Don't get your hopes up. You won't be able to do this for a living," and despite all the negativity, for some reason I just kept pursuing it. I got out of school and moved to New York and told myself, "Well, don't expect anything, but enjoy yourself." Luckily, things fell into place.