Sebastian Stan Playing Donald Trump In The Apprentice Movie

Considering how often fans have expected Sebastian Stan to play a young Luke Skywalker, it may come as something of a surprise that he will play the much more unexpected role of Donald Trump. However, Stan has a particular talent for embodying complex celebrity figures: in the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy, his performance as Tommy Lee was almost eerily perfect. Before that, he played Jeff Gillooly in I, Tonya, and his performance as troubled ice skater Tonya Harding’s abusive husband elevated the entire film.

In other words, we are quite confident that Sebastian Stan will do an excellent job as Donald Trump…the only question is whether the public will be interested in seeing a dramatization of the former president’s early days as a real estate mover and shaker. Some would say that Trump’s time in politics is far more interesting than his time in real estate, and it’s likely no coincidence that production of the film began this week while Trump is standing trial in New York for alleged fraud. The timing of The Apprentice certainly seems like an effort by director Ali Abbasi to strike while the iron is hot.

The real-life Trump has proven himself to be as complex as he is controversial, and only time will tell if that will bring audiences to the theater or whether the general public will be “Trumped out” by the time the film comes out. Fortunately, aside from Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump, the rest of the cast may appeal to general audiences: Jeremy Strong, hot off his performance as Kendall Roy in Succession, will play Trump mentor Roy Cohn.

Meanwhile, Oscar-nominated Maria Bakalova–best known for her performance as Bee in Bodies, Bodies, Bodies and for voicing Cosmo in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3–will be playing Ivanka Trump, Donald’s first wife.

For longtime movie lovers, there is something surreal about Sebastian Stan playing a younger Donald Trump: after all, long before he had any political aspirations, the real Trump was a celebrity himself, making cameos as himself in movies like Home Alone and eventually headlining the hit television Celebrity Apprentice. Trump’s celebrity and general charisma most certainly helped him win the 2016 election and become the President of the United States, but while in that position, he made waves–and enemies–all over the world. To many, he’s a hero who later became a villain, and that makes Stan (famous for playing Marvel’s hero-turned-villain-turned-hero Winter Soldier) the perfect casting choice.