Biography
A young actor on the rise, Aaron Stanford worked steadily on both stage and screen throughout most of his life, but made his big screen mark playing the conflicted, fire-throwing Pyro in both "X2: X-Men United" (2002) and "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006). Born May 18, 1977 in Westford, MA, Stanford began his career with an intense focus in theatre, beginning with a local theatre in his small Massachusetts hometown, followed by college theatre and work with the London Academy of Theatre. Stanford returned to the stage in 2004, performing to rave reviews in "Where Do We Live," at the Vineyard Theatre in Manhattan. A graduate of Rutgers University, Stanford received critical acclaim for his feature film debut in "Tadpole" starring opposite Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth. In 2002, he essayed the role of Pyro, the one mutant not sure if he is fighting for the right side. He ends up leaving the X-Men, who wish to co-exist peacefully with humans, to join up with Magneto and gang of destructive mutants who feel no compassion for humans -- only hatred for all they have subjected them to. He reprised this fan favorite role in 2006's sequel, "X-Men: The Last Stand." While "X-Men" put him on the map, he continued to prove himself in other projects. He received the Rising Star of Tomorrow award from the 2004 Hamptons Film Festival for his performance in "Winter Solstice." "Runaway Boys," which he starred in and produced, was an official selection at the 2005 Tribeca Film Festival. Stanford's other film credits include Spike Lee's "25th Hour," Woody Allen's "Hollywood Ending," and David Mamet's "Spartan." Following his success as the Marvel Comics mutant, Stanford nabbed a starring role in Fox Searchlight's remake of Wes Craven's "The Hills Have Eyes," (2006), and the independent films, "Flakes" and "Live Free or Die," the latter premiering at the 2006 SXSW and GEN ART film festivals. That same year, Stanford landed a starring role in ABC-TV's and Warner Bros. Television's pilot "Traveler," in which he played the title role of Will Traveler. The thriller was in the vein of "Enemy of the State" and "Three Days of the Condor," and asked the question, do you really know who your friends are? Stanford next appeared in the indie features "The Cake Eaters" (2007) and "How I Got Lost" (2008) before landing the male lead in action thriller "Nikita" (NBC 2010-13). He reappeared on TV in the series adaptation of Terry Gilliam's thriller "12 Monkeys" (SyFy 2015- ).
