Inbox • SEBASTIAN STAN

THREE

Pippa,

Ah, it's nice to be able to open with your name. I don't think I've met a Pippa before you know, it's not that I recall anyway.

To answer a few of your questions:

Being an actor is fun, for the most part. Nothing can beat the feeling of being on set, the atmosphere is entirely different to anything else I have ever encountered in my life and you make some amazing friends too. Just like everything, it comes with its downsides though. Hence, the answer to your next question.

I'm taking a hiatus because I want to live my life out of the spotlight for a while, perhaps settle down. Meet some new people. It can be frustrating when you can't go out for a cup of coffee (one of the loves of my life) without someone snapping a picture of you.

I know I played a character who had to wear a baseball cap and shades to go into public without being spotted, yet I never expected to actually have to do so in my real life.

This is just a break from the attention, from the 'celebrity' way of living, moving to a quieter area in a little apartment block where no one does anything but smile at you in the hallways is nice.

On to the next thing you asked, I suppose I haven't really done the whole pen-pals thing before. Not properly. I mean, I used to write to a kid in another state when we were in elementary school and he moved away but I wouldn't exactly class that as the same thing as this, we mainly just called each other until he drifted apart and lost interest in communication.

It's been so long since I had time to think about what I actually like, I'm finding it hard to compile a list:

We seem to share a common interest in coffee, as I mentioned before it's the most precious thing in my life (besides my god daughter who talked me into sending you a letter) and I basically need the caffeine to function

It sounds strange, but I don't really watch that many movies. I never had time to over the past few years because my schedule was so busy, only managed to catch a couple of films at premiers and such.

You can occasionally find me in little coffee shops out in the middle of nowhere when no one cares about who else is there and I drive a lot from place to place just for the sake of it.

Oh god, I just realised how dull I must sound. Like, I have no interests. I can't even remember what I like, although I suppose that's why I'm on this break. I want to reclaim my life a little and figuring out what I do still like to do is gonna be a big part of that. I'll keep you updated on things as and when I realise I like them.

I've had a quiet week so far too, thank you for asking. Receiving your letter made it a lot better than usual though, I wasn't really anticipating a reply; I'd convinced myself that I sounded like too much of an awkward creep to begin with.

What do you do for work, Pippa? Anything exciting coming up in the not too distant future? Don't be afraid to ask anymore questions, I'm more than happy to answer them.

Write back,

-Seb