Sebastian Stan says playing Donald Trump was similar to another of his roles
The Bucky Barnes star plays the former president in new film The Apprentice – which follows Trump in the '70s and '80s.
You might think starring as someone like Donald Trump would be a rather unique challenge for an actor – but according to Sebastian Stan, playing the controversial former US president in new film The Apprentice had a few things in common with another of his recent roles.
Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com a few weeks ago to promote the recently released A Different Man, Stan explained that while there were obviously some clear differences between the two films, he'd come to realise that there were also a few "parallels".
He explained: "It's interesting to me, because the more I've spoken about both films, I actually do find that there's these parallels in terms of some of the themes. You know, integrity, what is acceptance and what is self-abandonment? How far do you go to deny certain things in order to validate your own self-created reality? And I think those are the right questions.
"I saw something the other day and it was great, because somebody was talking about 'why' is just almost impossible to answer. But 'how' actually leads to something, and we should be asking how, more than we ask why."
Despite not having an obvious resemblance to Trump by any means, Stan completely disappears into the role – thanks in part to prosthetics but also due to his sometimes uncannily accurate command of facial expressions, body language and manner of speaking.
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And according to co-star Maria Bakalova – who plays Ivana Trump – it was "so strange" watching him master the part.
"I knew Sebastian from before, and seeing him, listening to him as Donald, was so strange," she said. "While shooting the movie, he was always in the make-up chair before all of us, because he had the most prosthetics, wigs, everything. And most of the time you see him as this character.
"And I remember one day I was passing by him in the place that we were staying, and I was like... I completely dismissed... I didn't know who that person was. That was Sebastian. I completely forgot about how he looked, how he sounded, because he did such a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of this person."
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She added: "Of course, I believe you cannot completely replicate another human being, but if you can bring humanity, if you can bring layers to that person, and some mannerisms, some accent, the way they move, the way they look, that's the greatest that you can do. He does a great job."
Bakalova added that Sebastian was a "very supportive, great partner" throughout the making of the film, saying that it had been a "really fun" process. But she did recount one instance early on in which she found herself having to remind herself that he was just playing a part.
"We started with the scene of Oprah [Winfrey] and Donald, and when I saw him... I really like Sebastian as a human being, but I was like, 'Oh, God.' It's such an intense scene, [I was like] 'Is that Sebastian, or is this the character?' It's like, 'OK, he's giving me this I'm gonna give him that attitude, like a lot of attitude!'"
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The Apprentice is released in UK cinemas on Friday 18th October 2024.
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