Sebastian Stan reveals how he transformed himself into Donald Trump's replica in 'The Apprentice'
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sebastian Stan opened up on his process while portraying Donald Trump in the upcoming flick ‘The Apprentice.’
The Marvel star shared, “How do you take on the most famous person in the world? Somebody that people feel so strongly about, and everyone has an impression of?”
Interestingly, filmmaker Ali Abbasi was able to convince the star. “I was reassured there was something underneath all the noise that was important to explore. Namely, why do people do what they do?” he said.
Director Ali Abbasi talks about 'The Apprentice'
Ali Abbasi reflected the on what the movie focuses on. “The whole idea was to humanize these people,” Abbasi said. As a result, “we get both sides: This side thinks it’s too nice to him, this side says it’s too mean. I don’t want to do propaganda for Trump, but I don’t want to do a hit piece, either. I can’t let the politics of the day dictate our artistic agenda,” he added.
Stan, too, opened up on the work he put in to be prepared for the character. “It became as much of a routine as breathing. Whether I was brushing my teeth, making breakfast, or getting in the car, I was listening to him. I was really trying to capture his way of speaking, which was very different back then. He’s much more scattered today,” he said.
He also mentioned Donald Trump’s 1988 Oprah Winfrey interview. “He speaks really quickly and is actually very coherent,” he said, according to USA Today.
Sebastian Stan watched hours of Donald Trump's recorded footage
Ali Abbasi revealed that Sebastian Stan studied Donald Trunp minutely for the role. “He tried to create an almost muscle memory, like, ‘I don’t know when, exactly, this will come in handy, but it could at some point,’” he said.
Stan said he also used to closely observe Trump’s newsreels with wife Ivana. “The way he would walk into ballrooms and galas and he would be doing this sort of 'Blue Steel' look down the lens of the camera,” he said, referring to the 2001 Ben Stiller comedy ‘Zoolander.’
“This is a very self-conscious person, and that’s what that body language says to me. None of that looked natural to me,” Stan added.
