Aaron Stanford Movies
A dynamic and handsome young actor who burst onto the screen with a fearless performance as a 15-year-old prep-school student who falls in love with his stepmother in Tadpole (2002), Aaron Stanford was probably better known for his role as comic-book fire starter Pyro in director Bryan Singer's X2: X-Men United in 2003. Born to a publishing executive father and an English professor mother in Westford, MA, Stanford and his family remained in the small town for most of his youth. Following his first professional theater role in a 1995 production of Equus, the burgeoning actor opted to expand his skills at Rutgers University, from which he graduated magna cum laude. Continuing his studies abroad at the London Academy of Theater, Stanford returned to the States to land a recurring role in the weekly television drama Third Watch in 2001. As a result of his feature debut in Tadpole, Stanford was cited by both Variety and Entertainment Weekly as a young actor to watch. Supporting roles in Woody Allen's Hollywood Ending and Spike Lee's 25th Hour (both 2002) were quick to follow, although it was the following year's X2 that found Stanford gaining his most exposure. On the heels of that film, he began preparing for roles in Spartan and Rick in 2003, and Winter Solstice (2004). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide- 2009
Their lives having drifted substantially off course, two longtime friends decide to ditch New York City and set out on the road to nowhere in this soul-searching drama from director Joe Leonard. Reckless banker Andrew (Aaron Stanford) spends most of his time boozing and chain smoking, rarely pondering anything deeper than his next deal or drink. His best friend Jake (Jacob Fishel) may look like he has it together, though the sad fact is that he, too, is completely frustrated. A failed author who now covers women's basketball for the sports pages, Jake still carries a torch for his temperamental ex-girlfriend (Nicole Vicius). One year after September 11, 2001, Andrew and Jake are still trying to figure out where it all went wrong. One night, after bullying his pal into a cab headed to Philadelphia, Andrew offers the driver $200 and Jake's shoes to get them out of the city. With that, their journey has begun. But nobody said that this trip was going to be easy, and later, when Andrew and Jake break down in the middle of nowhere, the real motivation for the trip emerges. As Andrew and Jake will soon discover, sometimes finding your true destination requires getting a little lost. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Jacob Fishel, (more)
Actress Mary Stuart Masterson makes her feature directorial debut with this drama detailing the manner in which three generations of men deal with the death of the family matriarch. Evicted from his New York City apartment, starving musician Guy Kimbrough (Jayce Bartok) makes his way back upstate for the first time in three years. Upon returning to his hometown, Guy does his best to deal with the recent death of his mother while desperately attempting to reconnect with his ex-girlfriend Stephanie (Miriam Shor) -- who has since moved on and found happiness with another man. Meanwhile, as Guy does his best to win Stephanie back, his shy brother, Beagle (Aaron Stanford), falls deeply in love with Friedreich's Ataxia-stricken high school student Georgia, and their father, Easy (Bruce Dern), attempts to rekindle his relationship with Georgia's grandmother Marg (Elizabeth Ashley). ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kristen Stewart, Aaron Stanford, (more)
- 2007
Another of the many serialized adventure shows created in the wake of such similar efforts as 24 and Lost, ABC's Traveler starred Matthew Bomerand and Logan Marshall-Green as Jay Burchell and Tyler Fog, a freewheeling pair of graduate students who have fallen under the spell of an inveterate--and highly secretive--prankster calling himself Will Traveler (Aaron Stanford). For two years, Traveler had been goading Jay and Tyler into performing a variety of prankish stunts, climaxed by a roller-blading excursion in the vicinity of a famous museum. Almost on cue, the museum is blown up, and the boys were suspected of being terrorists. Seeking out Will Traveler to provide them an alibi, the unlucky duo not only found out he had completely disappeared, but also that there was no evidence that he ever existed! Hotly pursued by FBI agents Naj Marlow (Viola Davis) and Fred Chambers (Steven Culp), Jay and Tyler embarked upon a country-wide odyssey, hoping to track down the elusive Traveler and clear their names. As was often the case in such series, there was a vast and sinister conspiracy pulling the plot strings, and also a few "rotten apples" amongst the federal authorities. Traveler was introduced with a limited eight-episode run beginning May 10, 2007. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Matthew Bomer, Logan Marshall-Green, (more)
Zooey Deschanel, Aaron Stanford, Izabella Miko, and Christopher Lloyd star in director Michael Lehmann's comedy concerning a New Orleans cereal bar manager whose slacker lifestyle is turned upside down when a rival cereal shop threatens both his livelihood and his love life. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Zooey Deschanel, (more)
The explosive X-Men motion picture trilogy officially draws to a close with this release that finds Rush Hour director Brett Ratner stepping in for Bryan Singer to tell the tale of a newly discovered mutant "cure," and the polarizing effect it has on mutant/man relations. With the pressure on mutants to give up their powers and pledge alliance with the human race reaching a critical turning point, Professor Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) urges tolerance and understanding as his nemesis Magneto (Ian McKellen) gathers a powerful resistance in preparation for the ultimate war against humankind. Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Anna Paquin, and James Marsden return to reprise the roles they played in the previous two X-Men films, with Kelsey Grammer and Vinnie Jones joining the cast as Beast and Juggernaut respectively. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, (more)
An aspiring small-town criminal edges in on the family business of an old acquaintance, only to find things quickly spinning out of control when an emotionally unstable cop begins investigating the case. Clueless criminal wannabe John "Rugged" Rudgate (Aaron Stanford) spends most of his time forging rebate coupons and selling speakers on the streets, but upon receiving a peculiar blast from the past he begins to dream of more lucrative criminal endeavors. It seems that John's old friend Jeff Lagrand (Paul Schneider) has arrived back in town to assist his sardonic sister (Zooey Deschanel) in maintaining the storage facility bestowed upon the pair by their recently deceased father. Of course, any self-respecting criminal would see this as an opportunity to make a pretty penny, and despite his small-time background Rugged is now ready to make the leap into the big leagues. Though his attempt to pry his way into the family business at first seems to be going along swimmingly, Rugged soon finds his criminal endeavors thwarted by a particularly sensitive cop (Michael Rapaport) who, despite his emotional fragility, remains determined to crack the case. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Paul Schneider, (more)
Alexandre Aja directs this remake of Wes Craven's film The Hills Have Eyes. In this update, a family is taking a cross-country road trip when their trailer breaks down, leaving them stranded in the desert of New Mexico. There, they find themselves under attack by the savage "hill people," who were deformed by radiation during nuclear testing. ~ Cammila Albertson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Kathleen Quinlan, (more)
- 2005
- Add Runaway to Queue
Michael (Aaron Stanford) arrives in a rural town, rents a motel room, and gets a job at the local gas station working for Mo (Peter Gerety), alongside the rambunctious Carly (Robin Tunney). Both Mo and Carly take an interest in Michael's life, and Carly is romantically attracted to him, but Michael's privacy is very important to him, because he has a dark secret. He's run to this small town from an unhappy, traumatic family life, and is forced to earn a living while secretly caring for his little brother, Dylan (Zack Savage). Despite Dylan's constant complaining, Michael rarely lets him leave the motel, because Michael knows that if the authorities find them, they'll be sent back home, or worse. In flashbacks, we see Michael talk to a therapist, Dr. Maxim (Terry Kinney), about his tormented relationship with his parents, Lisa (Melissa Leo) and Jesse (Michael Gaston). Michael blames his father's abuse for his inability to function, and when he saw signs that his father planned to abuse Dylan in the same way, he felt that he had no choice but to take drastic action. As Michael begins to confide in Carly, who has also suffered in an abusive relationship, we gradually learn just how bad things got back home before he ran. Runaway was directed by Tim McCann (Revolution #9) from an original script by Bill True. The film had its world premiere at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Aaron Stanford, Robin Tunney, (more)
When a diverse group of lifelong friends comes together to celebrate the marriage of devoted couple Elise (Amy Adams) and Michael (Adam Garcia), the mixed-up relationships of the past pave the road to a weekend no one is likely to soon forget in the feature debut from filmmaker Matthew Cole Weiss. The setting is Los Angeles, CA, and the event is the wedding between a man and a woman who always seemed destined to be together. Unfortunately, all relationships can't be as healthy as Elise and Michael's is, and though best man and maid of honor Rich (Aaron Stanford) and Samantha (Melissa Sagemiller) seem to be preparing to take the plunge, the same certainly cannot be said for neurotic actress Lana (Mena Suvari). A free-spirited soul who has experienced flings with a variety of wedding attendees including the hapless Pockets (Jon Abrahams), alcoholic actor Simon (James Van Der Beek), and manic children's television program host Donovan (Ethan Embry), Lana attempts to sort out her past flings as lovelorn agent Quentin (Colin Hanks) pines for the bride's sister and the estranged father of the groom attempts to reconnect with his long-lost son. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Amy Adams, Adam Garcia, (more)
David Mamet writes and directs the political thriller Spartan. Respected Secret Service agent Robert Scott (Val Kilmer) is assigned to the kidnapping case of Laura Newton (Kristen Bell), the missing daughter of a high-ranking political figure. Scott is teamed up with rookie Curtis (Derek Luke). Aided by the FBI and the CIA, the team discovers a human trafficking operation that may lead to Laura's kidnappers. Meanwhile, political operative Stoddard (William H. Macy) refuses to cooperate with the rescue mission. Scott and Curtis are forced to quit the investigation when the media reports Laura's death. Believing her to be alive, Curtis is motivated to start up a dangerous unofficial investigation of his own. Spartan premiered at the Bangkok International Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Val Kilmer, Derek Luke, (more)
A family struggles to come to terms with changes after a death in the family in this independent drama. Jim Winters (Anthony LaPaglia) is a widower living in suburban New Jersey with his two teenage sons, Gabe (Aaron Stanford) and Pete (Mark Webber). Pete, the younger of the siblings, has a hearing problem that has made school difficult for him; consequently, he has lost interest in his education and spends most of his time goofing off. Gabe is smarter and more ambitious, and has a stable relationship with his girlfriend, Stacey (Michelle Monaghan), but is beginning to chafe at the limitations of small-town life. And five years after his wife's death, Jim still hasn't been able to pick up and start his life over again. When Gabe announces he's decided to move to Florida, it has differing effects on those around him -- Stacey, hurt and confused, begins to withdraw; Pete strikes up a friendship with one of his teachers (Ron Livingston); and Jim struggles to work up the nerve to talk to his new neighbor, Molly Ripkin (Allison Janney. Winter Solstice was the first feature film from writer and director Josh Sternfeld; it won enthusiastic notices following its screenings at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Anthony LaPaglia, Aaron Stanford, (more)
The amoral world of a handful of Wall Street businessmen is delineated in this black comedy written by Lemony Snicket creator Daniel Handler. Rick takes as its central character a mid-level manager (Bill Pullman) working in a nameless corporation for a boss, Duke (Aaron Stanford), who's nearly half his age. Duke and Rick are constantly one-upping each other around the office; compounding their contentious relationship is the fact that Duke is pursuing Rick's daughter, Eve (Agnes Bruckner), a teenager who frequents Internet sex-chat rooms. Rick thinks he has found the solution to his work problems in Buck (Dylan Baker), an old college buddy who's become a paid hitman; for a fee, he'll take care of anyone who comes between Rick and his climb up the corporate ladder. But when a jilted job interviewee (Sandra Oh) puts a hex on Rick, it seems his good fortune may come to an end. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Bill Pullman, Aaron Stanford, (more)
When a failed assassination attempt occurs on the President's (Cotter Smith) life by the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming), it's Professor Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and his School for Gifted Youngsters who are targeted for the crime. While Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry) try and locate the assassin, Cyclops (James Marsden) and Xavier (also known as 'Professor X') seek answers from their old foe Magneto (Ian McKellan) in his glass cell...Little do they know they're walking into a trap set by the villainous William Stryker (Brian Cox), a mysterious governmental figure that figures into Wolverine's (Hugh Jackman) secretive past, along with information about the X-Men's operation, supplied by Magneto through a mind-controlling agent. Meanwhile Wolverine, just home from a failed mission to regain his memory, is in charge of the students when a crack-commando team led by Stryker infiltrates the school by order of the President. With a mansion full of young, powerful mutants and the ferocious Wolverine in babysitter mode, can he defend the school against the one man who can answer his questions? What roles do the sinister Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and Lady Deathstrike (Kelly Hu) have in all of this? Why does Stryker want Professor X and his Cerebro machine? With the war between humanity and mutants escalating to extremes, can the rest of the X-Men trust their old foes to help them? Director Bryan Singer returns and raises the stakes in this sequel to the highly lauded 2000 adaptation of Marvel Comics' X-Men. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, (more)
Most 15-year-old boys are obsessed with the opposite sex, but this may be the only area in which Oscar Grubman (Aaron Stanford) could be called typical. An honor student at an exclusive prep school, Oscar is confident, keenly intelligent, speaks fluent French, and is well versed in the work of a number of French authors, particularly his favorite, Voltaire. Oscar seems to have gotten his fascination with French culture from his mother, who several years ago divorced his father Stanley (John Ritter), a college professor, and moved to Paris. Stanley has recently remarried, taking an attractive woman in her mid-forties, Eve (Sigourney Weaver), as his new wife. Oscar, however, senses that Eve isn't happy in their marriage; certain he can give Eve the affection (both physical and emotional) that she needs, Oscar begins waging a low-key but ardent campaign to seduce his step-mother over the course of Thanksgiving weekend, despite the fact a number of Oscar's female classmates have made no secret of their attraction to him. Oscar's efforts to bed Eve attract the attention of one of her close friends, Diane (Bebe Neuwirth), a smart and sexy chiropractor who also becomes the not-entirely-unwelcome focus of Oscar's romantic attentions. Shot using digital video equipment, Tadpole was enthusiastically received at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, where the film's director, Gary Winick, received the Director's Award. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sigourney Weaver, Aaron Stanford, (more)
A down-on-his luck auteur gets one more chance at the big time -- provided his neuroses don't swallow him whole -- in Woody Allen's 33rd feature release, Hollywood Ending. Allen plays Val Waxman, a one-time cinematic genius who's resorted to taking advertisement work to pay the bills for himself and his airhead live-in girlfriend, Lori (Debra Messing). Val finds his luck is about to change, however, when he receives the script for The City Never Sleeps, a period noir set against the backdrop of 1940s New York City. It seems his ex-wife, Ellie (Tea Leoni), now an executive at Galaxy Pictures, has been pulling for him to direct the picture, claiming he's the only man who can do justice to the script. She even manages to convince her boyfriend, Hal (Treat Williams), Galaxy's high-powered studio head, to take a chance on Val's "unique vision." Just when the cameras are ready to roll, however, Val finds that unique vision in jeopardy -- literally -- as he's struck with a psychosomatic case of blindness. When physicians and psychiatrists fail to cure him, Val contrives a scheme to forge ahead with the picture, for fear of blowing his one last chance at greatness. Hollywood Ending co-stars George Hamilton and Mark Rydell. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Woody Allen, Téa Leoni, (more)
This entry in the perennially popular teen horror genre is from writer/director Steve Carpenter and the producers of I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) and Urban Legend (1998). Melissa Sagemiller stars as Cassie, a college freshman trying to get over the death of her boyfriend Sean (Casey Affleck) in an auto accident. Making matters worse is that ever since the car crash, which also nearly claimed her own life, Cassie has seemed to hover in a netherworld between the living and the dead, where she believes she's hallucinating some spooky, emotional visitations from Sean. In the meantime, she's also coming under the sway of her mysterious friends Matt (Wes Bentley) and Annabel (Eliza Dushku) as well as an androgynous acquaintance (Angela Featherstone) of theirs. Unsure whom she can trust, Cassie turns for aid to an enigmatic young priest, Father Jude (Luke Wilson), but the ultimate truth about her condition and state of mind may come as a shocking revelation. ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melissa Sagemiller, Casey Affleck, (more)
