The timing of The Apprentice was no accident. Ali Abassi's scathing indictment of Donald Trump's early years was purposely set for release during election season. Trump has won the election against Kamala Harris, so Abassi's endgame was not realized, but fans and critics agree that the film offers an unflinching portrait of the controversial politician.
Crucial to the film's is the central performance by Sebastian Stan. The general consensus was that Stan managed to walk a fine line between the empathetic, inexperienced Trump, and the harder, less humane Trump that the world has come to know in recent decades. Stan's ability to balance these disparate threads was not predicated on his liking Trump, however.
Sebastian Stan honed in on Trump's "paranoia"
The actor talked about the U.S. President during an appearance on Hollywood Reporter‘s Awards Chatter podcast. He detailed the intense prep that went into playing Trump, which meant putting on weight and emulating the politician's voice, but he also spoke to the discoveries he made about the man while he was playing him.
Stan believes that Trump does not take the concerns or needs of others into consideration. Ever. He boiled down the politician's psychology to naked ambition, and the desire to prove that he should be taken seriously by those above him:
"There is one paranoid, scared little man that’s still out there fighting... He ain’t caring about your situation. It’s that he‘s got to get there first."
He believes Trump embodies the failed American Dream
Stan, who was born in Romania, found Donald Trump to be a microcosm of the American Dream gone bad. In his estimation, the politician had all the advantages, and still lost sight of his humanity at some point along the way,
"This man was sort of a really good example of what can happen as a result when you lose who you are," the actor explained. "You are so focused on one thing and that nothing else matters, not even your humanity."
The Apprentice is playing in select theaters and is currently available to rent on streaming platforms.