The first trailer for “The Apprentice” has finally arrived, showing exactly how Trump became the person he is today.
As the footage kicks off, we see a young Trump (Sebastian Stan) headed to Roy Cohn’s (Jeremy Strong) home for what appears to be the first time. He’s still an unknown, as the voice over Cohn’s speakerbox irritatedly asks “Donald who?”
From there, we see the two develop a relationship, as Cohn lays out the rules for Trump’s success: “attack, attack, attack,” “admit nothing, deny everything,” and finally, “never admit defeat” even if you’ve lost.
Watch the footage below:
“You have to be willing to do anything to anyone to win,” Cohn ominously tells him.
The trailer also hints at Trump’s first marriage, and even shows a snippet of an interview where he drops the idea of running for president, if he were to lose his fortune.
Directed by Ali Abbasi, “The Apprentice” follows a young Trump who’s “eager to make his name as a hungry second son of a wealthy family in 1970s New York” and “comes under the spell of Roy Cohn the cutthroat attorney who would help create the Donald Trump we know today. Cohn sees in Trump the perfect protégé — someone with raw ambition, a hunger for success, and a willingness to do whatever it takes to win.”
The film has seen a fair bit of controversy since premiering at Cannes back in May. It was originally backed by Dan Snyder, a staunch conservative and friend of Trump himself, but he didn’t want his name attached to the film after learning exactly how it would portray the ex-president and convicted felon.
James Shani, an executive producer on the biopic, led the group that bought out Snyder’s stake, paving the way for a domestic theatrical release. The film was just acquired for domestic distribution by Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment, in partnership with Rich Spirit, at the end of August.
“The Apprentice” hits theaters on October 11.
