Sebastian Stan plays Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” and, in the first official clip released from the film, the actor has to channel the convicted felon’s boastful side after one of his many lawsuits.
In the footage, a young Trump (Stan) rides in a car with his mentor, Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong), who bluntly tells a reporter that he’s had quite a bit of demand for the exclusive interview with Trump, but chose to give it to her. Handing off the phone, Trump stumbles through her questions.
You can watch it in the video below.
You’ll notice that his voice in the clip doesn’t sound all that much like Trump’s voice does now, but it’s possible that’ll change as the story progresses. After all, the film takes place earlier in Trump’s life.
Sharing a name with Trump’s former TV competition series, “The Apprentice” was written by Gabriel Sherman and directed by Ali Abbasi. It follows Trump while he works as a New York real estate mogul during the 1970s and the ’80s. He was supported at the time by lawyer Roy Cohn, who infamously rose to prominence as Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s chief counsel.
“The Apprentice” is making the festival rounds, playing at Telluride Film Festival this weekend after premiering at Cannes back in May. TheWrap’s own Steve Pond saw the film at the latter, calling it “amusing at times and disturbing at others.”
“It’s a true-life horror story in some ways, and Abbasi approaches it as a Frankenstein tale in which the mad doctor creates a monster and then loses control of it,” Pond said at the time. “But after years of Trump imitations (and the real thing), it also can’t help but feel a little cartoonish, and maybe not the best use of the director’s particular talents.”
The film has been surrounded by controversy since its Cannes premiere, only getting acquired for domestic distribution by Tom Ortenberg’s Briarcliff Entertainment at the end of August.
It was originally backed by Dan Snyder, a staunch conservative and a friend of Trump, but he did not want his name attached to the film after learning exactly how it would portray the ex-president.
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 Apprentice” will hit theaters on October 11.
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