Born on December 27, 1976 in Westford, Massachusetts, Aaron Stanford is an American actor best known for his role as Pyro in the X-Men movies. He attended the State University of New York but transferred to Rutgers University Mason Gross School of Arts. In 2000, he graduated magna cum laude. He began his film career on stage, working in a local theater in Massachusetts and continuing at the London Academy of Theatre. Aaron Stanford received critical acclaim in his film debut role, as Oscar Grubman in the low-budget independent film Tadpole. He was cast in the 2002 movie alongside Sigourney Weaver and Bebe Neuwirth. Stanford was 23 years old at the time of filming, but he had to play a 15-year old boy with a crush on his stepmother. He earned a nomination for the Golden Satellite Award because of his performance. From 2001 to 2002, he appeared on the series Third Watch as Sergei, a Russian teenager. In 2002, he was cast alongside Edward Norton in Spike Lee's crime drama 25th Hour. Two years later, he was given a role in the Christopher Shinn play Where Do We Live at the Vineyard Theatre. Stanford was cast as Pyro or John Allerdyce in the 2002 blockbuster film X2, the sequel to 2000's X-Men. Director Bryan Singer was impressed by his performance in Tadpole that he chose him for the role. Stanford played the character again in 2006's X-Men 3. He was also in Winter Solstice, as Anthony LaPagalia's son, Gabe. Stanford also starred in 2005's Runaway and followed this up with Standing Still. His next role was as Doug Bukowski in the remake of Wes Craven's thriller The Hills Have Eyes in 2006. The next year, he was cast in the ABC series Traveler as Will Traveler. He was also in Flakes and The Cake Eaters, both in 2007. He was also a guest star in the CBS series Numb3rs.