Sebastian Stan says playing Trump made him realize Hollywood is 'hypocritical'

Sebastian Stan isn't fearful to create group uncomfortable.

The 44-year-old actor, who earned an Oscar nomination for playing a young Donald Trump in "The Apprentice," watched in 2024 as his movie encountered roadblock following roadblock — a cease-and-desist letter from Trump, struggles landing a distributor, and hesitance from another actors to conversation the movie alongside him in press— in its journey to screen.

But the headache hasn't deterred him from taking risks on projects that difficulty the audience.

"It's not equal concerning Trump anymore. We have to be capable to examine item and everything that is uncomfortable," Stan told Business Insider. "We can't rotate into so delicate to the item anywhere we're really depriving ourselves of elevated idea concerning anyone or any matter. Certainly not in the hands of fear."

Stan's latest film, "Fjord," delivers on that promise, telling a subversive, provocative narrative concerning a traditional Romanian-Norwegian brace whose parenting methods are called into inquiry following they move to a advancing Norwegian town.

For Stan, the movie wasn't fair an chance to perform nuanced, thought-provoking material. As a Romanian-American who fled the nation as a boy in the delayed 1980s, operating alongside Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu ("4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days") was additionally a long-awaited homecoming.

Stan immersed himself completely in the role, sporting a shaved caput alongside a enormous bald place and speaking most of his lines in Romanian. He and Renate Reinsve, who plays his wife, were so locked in during manufacturing that they would go out to meal together, motionless dressed in the apparel they attempt their scenes in that day. Stan stated the cognition brought him nearer to his homeland.

"A lot of group go, 'Great, you desire to arrive rear to Romania, and you desire to do movies, but you didn't develop up here, you don't cognize what our cognition is. You were fortunate you got away,' so I was a small apprehensive," Stan told Business Insider concerning operating alongside Mungiu's Romanian-heavy crew. "But, honestly, on the final day of this movie, they wrapped the Romanian emblem about me, and they were so arrogant to benevolent of obtain me rear in a way and greeted me home." 

For the latest discussion in Business Insider's Role Play series, Stan talks concerning his unsuccessful "American Idol" audition, anywhere he thinks Bucky Barnes fits in the current MCU, and realizing how "hypocritical" Hollywood is following playing Trump.

On sleeping on the street to audition for 'American Idol' and losing out on 'The O.C.'

Business Insider: What are your recollections of auditioning for "American Idol" rear whenever you were 19?

Sebastian Stan: It was my companion Justin; we the two went to Rutgers for the acting program, and he said, "I'm going to New York City to try out for this new show, 'American Idol,'" and he said, "Want to come?" And I was like, "Fuck it, why not."

I recall I had on leather pants; I don't cognize why I idea that was gonna create a difference. We got there and it was in Times Square, and I see this huge row about the block, and I'm like, "What's going on?" He's like, "No, no, the audition is tomorrow," but it was akin 6 p.m., and he tells me we're going to sleep on the street.

So we went to a McDonald's in Times Square, slept barely in this line, and in the dawn we got in to these auditions. And what they did was they took five or six of you at a time; they lined you up. I didn't encounter any of the judges; it was fair several guy. The five of us did 20 seconds of a capella; I think I sang the medley from "Moulin Rouge!," and they were like, "Next." So it didn't activity out. 

You commencement construction credits, and afterward you go on this five-year run of playing the obnoxious fool roles: "The Covenant," "The Education of Charlie Banks," "Rachel Getting Married," "Hot Tub Time Machine." Was there a item whenever you were concerned concerning getting typecast as the 2000s-era jerk?

My mindset was, get a job. I was fair trying to get a ft in the door. And by the way, I was getting near to a lot of another kinds of roles. At the time, there was that movie "Alpha Dog" — I tried out for that and didn't get it.

But in that era were the "American Pie" movies and "Not Another Teen Movie," which Chris Evans did; they were these movies that had the stereotypical athlete asshole guy, and group would continually obtain a appearance at me and go, "That's the guy." And in "Gossip Girl" I played that, too. But I was fair trying to get a start. It wasn't who I felt I really was. 

I recall I tried out for "The O.C." and got extremely close. "Star Trek," didn't get that. "Green Lantern," "John Carter," "The Lone Ranger" — so I was going out for big stuff; I fair wasn't getting it.

On why he believes Bucky Barnes needs to remain restricted and the 'education' Marvel gave him

Looking back, do you think your occupation could have went downward a distinct way if being mold as Bucky Barnes didn't hit the way it did?

What's comic is you go to acting school, and you're being taught the craft, but afterward there's the learning that you do on set — having the cognition of being on set alongside a camera, learning the lenses, what everyone does. So in several ways, Marvel was a genuine learning in moviemaking and acting. It additionally allowed me to go rear complete and complete and have several consistency in my life, which I didn't have. I grew up in that period. I got additional focused. And it freed me.

The role, which I idea was complex, this character is extremely distinct now than whenever we started out. That character had PTSD, had gone through things; there was a lot to perform there. So that box was checked.

Looking exterior of that, it became: what were the things I could do that were so far distant from that? I don't cognize if I would have pursued those things as aggressively if I didn't have this lane anywhere I was getting to perform additional of the direct man.

Are there tweaks you've done to the Bucky character complete the years that you're amazed fans haven't caught on to yet?

We've tried, and I create an accent on we since it's not fair me. I have had to modify to Marvel changing and evolving and becoming a bigger world. The Captain America franchise, whenever we started, they were extremely grounded. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" is benevolent of a suspense thriller; "Civil War" had additional personalities, but at the bosom it was serious, so this character, at its core, is a extremely grave character.

Maybe group would contend differently, but things have gone additional into an expansive, combined location of how does everybody fit in, and I think wit is a big part of making that happen. We have, and I have, tried to modify to those things. So the inquiry afterward became, What's comic concerning this guy? What is there to play? Some of it has been explored, but not entirely.

It's trying distinct things. At this instant in time, the character adopted this kind of Clint Eastwood, crusty old man humor. Dry —been there, done that, Why are we fucking doing this again — that benevolent of thing. I don't cognize if the character volition remain there, but it's not a character who can abruptly go big.

On realizing Hollywood is 'hypocritical' following playing Trump and collaborating alongside awesome directors

Going to acting academy is one aspect of construction a career, and you mentioned another is learning what it's akin operating on sets. But yet another is understanding the Hollywood game. What was the biggest item you learned concerning Hollywood following playing Donald Trump in "The Apprentice"?

Um [Laughs.] It's fairly hypocritical in a lot of ways. Everybody has fine intentions, I think, concerning saying the correct things, but they don't continually do the correct thing. I'm not saying it's gaslighting, but there's item to it, since there's frequently times you end up asking yourself if you're the one that's crazy.

There are many times — and I'm not saying it was fair connected to "The Apprentice" or Trump — there are another things equal now anywhere I've been in rooms and talking to group who volition say things in personal that they volition never say publicly.

As it pertains to that movie, that was the experience, which was everybody loved the movie that I talked to; everybody wanted to assistance it, but yet nobody wanted to stage up to the plate.

Now current we are today, anywhere the trailer for the Elon Musk documentary is struggling to be shown online, so now this benevolent of item is beautiful normalized. Can you ideate that happening ten to 20 years ago?

Back in 2018, I said to you for "Destroyer." At that time, you hadn't landed guide roles yet. I asked what you were looking for whenever that happens, and you said, "Down the row I desire to be remembered for being part of particular plant and visions of board fairly than a collection of characters."

Is that motionless your mindset? Because alongside roles akin Jeff Gillooly in "I Tonya," Tommy Lee in "Pam & Tommy," Edward in "A Different Man," you are construction an amazing stable of memorable characters. 

It's insane to comprehend that quote. Back then, I think that was anywhere I was starting to go since I had arrive off of "I, Tonya" and I'd learned the value of having a fine director and how it influences your activity and the performance. Karyn Kusama, who did "Destroyer," was person I really respected.

And also, before that, you mentioned "Rachel Getting Married" — my entire scheme rear afterward was to fair get one environment or a small part in a big director's movie. So that was Jonathan Demme. "The Martian," I got to activity alongside Ridley Scott. I took those parts since this is a director's medium. 

Since then, I've tried to rod to that, and these performances you've mentioned, to several extent, they've worked since of those collaborations anywhere you need to have the captain of the ship. You need to have those board who cognize how to communicate. I've established myself improved whenever I am in trusted hands, whenever it's person that I really authorize myself to let go with.

Because if you can't rely a director, what happens is you commencement to be concerned concerning what's happening on the another flank of the camera, and you're afterward not engaged in the cognition of the function you're playing. I think that shows whenever that happens. 

This discussion has been condensed and edited for dimension and clarity.

"Fjord" is in theaters now.

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