Sebastian Stan appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to discuss his role as Donald Trump in the 2024 film ‘The Apprentice.’
When asked if he had any hesitation about taking the role, Stan shared his initial reaction: “Of course. I really asked the director. I said, ‘I just don’t understand, like, why. Why am I the guy to be getting this call?’ And he goes, ‘Well, you’re just really good at, you know, humanizing horrible people.’ And I was like, ‘Thanks.'” He added, “And then two weeks before we’re about to start shooting, he goes, he’s like, ‘Well, you know, originally I wanted to cast a woman to play the part.’ And I was like, we need to restart.”
Stan admitted to some trepidation due to potential backlash. He recalled a conversation with a studio CEO: “Of course, because I’m sure, you know, it’s like every time somebody says to you, don’t do something, you want to do it more, but I did. I was at this dinner with the CEO of a studio who I asked, actually — I said, ‘Hey, what do you think about me playing this part?’ He said, “Don’t do that. You’re going to alienate half the country. You’re Bucky Barnes.” And I was like, “I know, and he’s brainwashed too.”
When asked about playing Trump, Stan mentioned how the role affected him: “Well, you know, it’s interesting because sometimes certain things linger, like certain mannerisms, and weirdly, for the first time in this movie, I actually have to wear like a suit and tie in the film as Bucky Barnes. And every time I put on the tie and the suit, some stuff would slip out, and so I’d have to tell the director to kind of watch my lips and things.”
Jimmy Kimmel said, “But you’re great in it. You’re fantastic. And this, as well, is a totally different part than anything you’ve done. But then I just saw that you were doing is it ‘Thunderbolts’ for Marvel?” Sebastian Stan responded, “Yes. Yes. Very exciting to be back.”
Stan previously revealed that his performance as Donald Trump in ‘The Apprentice’ was so intense it stayed with him even while filming ‘Thunderbolts*.’
‘The Apprentice’ is a 2024 biographical drama examining Donald Trump’s rise as a real estate mogul in 1970s and 1980s New York City and his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn. Directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman, the film stars: Sebastian Stan as Trump, Jeremy Strong as Cohn, Martin Donovan as Trump’s father Fred, and Maria Bakalova as Trump’s first wife Ivana.
