The Apprentice: Everything We Know About Sebastian Stan's Young Donald Trump Movie
Is it too soon for a movie about Donald Trump? Frankly, if I never see the 45th U.S. President's face again it'll be too soon, but it's not surprising that after filmmakers have spent the past several years filling their projects with Trump-like allegorical figures, someone would finally bite the bullet and make a full-on biopic. The upcoming film "The Apprentice" sounds more like a snapshot of the political figure's life than a complete biographical account, but it'll no doubt stir up plenty of intrigue regardless – especially when it plans to include other headline-grabbing names like Ivana Trump and Roy Cohn.
While "The Apprentice" won't be hitting theaters in time for award season, it's still a fascinating project worth keeping an eye on. Any initial ick you might get about the idea of Trump as a protagonist may be tempered by the project director's unique filmography and the eclectic, talented cast that's already being put together. Here's everything we know so far about "The Apprentice."
When does The Apprentice premiere?
"The Apprentice" does not yet have a release date, but production on the film began in late November 2023, per Deadline. While some movies soar through post-production and end up reaching audiences in under a year, director Ali Abbasi reportedly spent 18 months casting one of his previous films (per Screen Daily), so we know he's more focused on getting movies right than getting them out ultra-fast. There were four years between his most recent feature and the one before it, but given that production on "The Apprentice" has already began, it's on track for a quicker release than that.
Given the lack of major studios involved in the film, it's also possible that "The Apprentice" will go the festival route, playing at fests before potentially being bought by a distributor who will set a firmer plan for the film's release. This has been the case for all of Abbasi's features to date: his directorial debut premiered at the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, while both follow-ups premiered at Cannes. TriArt film has been involved in the distribution of two of the films, and his latest, "Holy Spider," is on Netflix in the U.S. All of this is to say that you'll most likely be able to catch "The Apprentice" at a film festival once it's complete, but its streaming home is still to be determined.
What are the plot details of The Apprentice?
"The Apprentice" tells the story of a younger, pre-politics Donald Trump attempting to create a real estate empire in the '70s and '80s, per Deadline. The movie seems to center on Trump's relationship with infamous lawyer Roy Cohn, who played an instrumental role in the early decades of Trump's career. Cohn was also notoriously a central figure in the Red Scare, serving as Senator Joseph McCarthy's right-hand man as he persecuted government employees and others who he suspected of having Communist ties or otherwise being morally indecent. Cohn supported organized discrimination against members of the LGBTQ+ community, but in 1986, he also died of AIDS after vehemently denying he had HIV.
Cohn, who also prosecuted Julius and Ethel Rosenberg as spies, was a mentor to Trump, and "The Apprentice" will apparently explore their relationship. According to writer Michael Wolff (per NPR), Cohn's impact on Trump was so great that during the early days of his presidency, the man was known to ask "Where's my Roy Cohn?" aloud, seemingly a rhetorical question. According to Deadline, "The Apprentice" will be "an exploration of power and ambition, set in a world of corruption and deceit." The outlet also notes that the movie will explore "the moral and human cost of a culture defined by winners and losers."
Deadline also says Trump's first wife, Ivana, will be portrayed in the movie. While there are no further details about Ivana's role, it's worth noting that she was born in then-Czechoslovakia, met Trump when modeling in the '70s and married him in 1977. The pair divorced in the '90s amidst very public relationship troubles. At the time of her divorce, Ivana said Trump once raped her, an allegation she later walked back. She died in 2022.
Who is in the cast of The Apprentice?
"Captain America" star Sebastian Stan has recently proven himself great at transforming on screen, portraying rock star Tommy Lee in Hulu's series "Pam & Tommy." Per Deadline, Stan is now set to take on another role that will require a whole lot of physical changes, as he's been tapped to play young Donald Trump.
Sources tell that outlet that the role of Roy Cohn has gone to Jeremy Strong, whose intense performance as Kendall Roy in HBO's "Succession" has made him an award season darling in recent years. Much has been made of Strong's acting process and the level at which he throws himself into roles (even if those roles make him almost throw himself into the river), so it'll be interesting to see how he chooses to embody Cohn if he is indeed playing the complicated, hated man.
Finally, "Borat Subsequent Moviefilm" and "Bodies Bodies Bodies" star Maria Bakalova is set to play Ivana, per Deadline. We'll likely see Bulgaria-born Bakalova, who you've also heard play Cosmo the space pup in the "Guardians of the Galaxy" franchise, sporting some wild '80s fashions while portraying Trump's first wife.
Who is the director of The Apprentice?
As mentioned, Iranian director Ali Abbasi is set to direct "The Apprentice." Abbasi's previous directorial credits include the 2016 pregnancy horror film "Shelley," the trippy, acclaimed Swedish fantasy flick "Border," and last year's "Holy Spider." Like "The Apprentice," the latter film is based on a true story, though "Holy Spider" is actually a thriller about an Iranian woman journalist trying to track down a serial killer.
Additionally, Abbasi directed two episodes of "The Last Of Us," the highly anticipated video game adaptation that became a hit for HBO this year. The filmmaker is credited behind the camera on the last two episodes of the show's first season, action-heavy chapters that featured a villainous cannibal and a famously morally gray climax. None of these projects seem anything like "The Apprentice," but they're all singular and interesting.
Who are the writers and producers of The Apprentice?
Per Deadline, author Gabriel Sherman penned the script for "The Apprentice," and it's not his first time examining the roots of the modern American right-wing political movement. In 2014, Random House published his book "The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News – and Divided a Country." That book was later adapted into Showtime's series "The Loudest Voice," starring Russell Crowe and Naomi Watts.
Sherman's only other screenwriting credit as of publication time is for the series "Alaska Daily," a short-lived ABC crime drama led by Hilary Swank. Sherman also served as a producer on both projects, and is set to executive produce "The Apprentice" as well. Other producers include Daniel Bekerman (Scythia Films), Jacob Jarek (Profile Pictures), and Ruth Treacy (Taylored Films), with Amy Baer, Mark Rapaport, Emanuel Nuñez, Grant S. Johnson all on board as EPs. Kinematics is financing the film.