Sebastian Stan thinks that Donald Trump probably liked at least one element of the recent biopic, The Apprentice, where the actor plays a younger version of the current US president.
The controversial film, which initially struggled to find a distributor, has been the source of much controversy, with the Republican presidential nominee calling it a “fake and classless movie written about me”.
Director Ali Abbasi’s movie focuses on Trump’s first attempts to make a name for himself in 1970s and 1980s New York, with the help of lawyer Roy Cohn, played by Succession star Jeremy Strong. Both Stan and Strong earned Oscar nominations for their performances.
Although Trump has voiced strong disapproval of the movie, Stan has a suspicion that Trump has seen the film, possibly more than once.
Speaking to Vanity Fair, the Thunderbolts* star said: “I would put money down he’s seen it 100 f***ing times, of course, because he’s a narcissist.”
Speculating further, Stan added: “And I bet you there are certain things he likes about it – like how he looked.”
Stan has previously told Trump to be appreciative of the film. Speaking to the BBC in October, he said: “They [Trump and Cohn] are very complex individuals, and that’s what it’s like in life, no one is morally completely on the right side or perfect in any way, everyone has flaws, and there are some redeeming qualities as well to them.”
The actor, who plays Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, continued: “I think [Trump] should be grateful, to be honest. We have pretty much handed him, I think, a very complex, three-dimensional take on his life, and I can’t recall anybody else doing that.”
Although the film was released before the 2024 US election, Stan admitted that other actors have been afraid to do press appearances with him as they didn’t want to discuss Trump.
During a Q&A about the film in Los Angeles, alongside Ali Abbasi, the Marvel star said that he was unable to take part in Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series due to others being unwilling to talk about Trump.
“I couldn’t find another actor to do it with me, because they were too afraid to to go and talk about this movie. So I couldn’t do it,” explained the 42-year-old.
Stan added: “You know, I’ve got to do a lot of great things, and that’s not pointing at anyone specific. It was… we couldn’t get past the publicists or the people representing them, because [they were] too afraid to talk about this movie.”
“And it’s like, that’s when I think we lose the situation,” he continued. “Because if it really becomes like that - fear or that discomfort to talk about this - then we’re really going to have a problem.”
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