The Unusual Way Sebastian Stan Landed His Role In Fresh

Some mild spoilers for “Fresh” follow, so if you haven’t seen the film and you’d rather not know any details, come back and read this after you’ve given it a watch. It turns out Steve is a psychopath who has plans to literally strip Noa for parts and sell her meat to those who would pay a whole lot of money for it — and she’s not even his only victim. He’s only too happy to take these women apart bit by bit, consuming or selling every piece of them, and obviously enjoying the whole terrible process.

Music plays a pivotal role in the film. This makes sense, considering Cave was making music videos prior to making her feature debut with “Fresh,” so she knows a thing or two about a killer needle drop. The film prominently features artists such as the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Duran Duran (covering Lou Reed!), and even a Radiohead cover. Steve has a real love for ’80s and ’90s pop, and whether he’s tenderizing human flesh or surgically removing body parts, he’s singing and dancing his way through it. It’s one of the more chilling aspects of the film, and also shows off Stan’s acting skills. He can go from immensely charming to straight-up terrifying without warning. Cave told Newsweek:

“Before he even knew that he got the part he sent me an email and it was just a video attached of him dancing in his kitchen with a steak knife. He was just really wanting to dive into the character already.”

Stan later posted the video on Instagram and you can certainly see he was the perfect actor to play Steve from the beginning. In fact, Cave had already decided to cast Stan in the role before he sent her the clip, though it did cement him in her mind as the right choice.