Sebastian Stan on Donald Trump 2 Years After Playing Him: ‘I Think We’re in a Really Bad Place’

Sebastian Stan, who played Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s film The Apprentice, recently reflected on the role. He also shared his views about the President during an appearance at Cannes. Stan last appeared at the festival two years ago for the premiere of The Apprentice, which centers around Trump’s younger years.

Marvel star Sebastian Stan played Donald Trump in the 2024 movie, The Apprentice, which followed Trump in 1970s New York, as he developed his public persona.

During an appearance at Cannes this year, Stan looked back at the film and expressed some of his views on the President’s current term.

“It’s not a laughing matter, to be honest, it isn’t,” Stan said at the panel in Cannes (via @Deadline/X). He continued, “I think we’re in a really bad place. When you’re looking at what’s happening, like the consolidation of the media, censorship, threats, and supposed lawsuits that seemingly never end.”

Stan added, “The writing was on the wall. We encountered all of that with the movie. To the point that we were three days before the festival, unsure if the movie was going to play at the festival.”

The Apprentice revolves around Donald Trump’s career as a real estate businessman in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, highlighting his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn, who helped him shape his infamous public persona. Alongside Stan as Trump and Jeremy Strong as Cohn, the film also stars Martin Donovan, Maria Bakalova, Catherine McNally, Mark Rendall, Charlie Carrick, Stuart Hughes, and Joe Pingue, among others. Stan and Strong were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor, respectively, at the 97th Academy Awards.

Stan’s latest film, Fjord, directed by Cristian Mungiu, opened at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival on May 18, 2026.