Sebastian Stan secures Oscar nomination for portraying Donald Trump in The Apprentice

The Apprentice actor Sebastian Stan has earned a 'Best Actor' nomination at the 97th Academy Awards for his portrayal of the real estate mogul. The Oscar nominations were announced on January 23, 2025, with the award ceremony scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 2, 2025. This is the 42-year-old actor's first Oscar nomination.

In The Apprentice, Stan plays a younger version of Donald Trump who starts his real estate business in New York City under the guidance of his father, Fred Trump Sr. It charts his rise in popularity during the 1970s and 1980s and also explores his dynamic with the notorious attorney Roy Cohn, an influential figure in his life.

Other nominees in the Best Actor category at the upcoming Oscars include Adrien Brody for the post-war drama The Brutalist, Timothée Chalamet for the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Ralph Fiennes for the political thriller Conclave, and Colman Domingo for the prison drama Sing Sing.

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Sebastian Stan has won several accolades for The Apprentice

The Apprentice scored another acting Oscar nomination for Jeremy Strong in the 'Best Supporting Actor' category for his portrayal of Trump's mentor, Roy Cohn. Both actors were also nominated at this year's Golden Globe Awards, held on January 5, 2025, as well as the upcoming BAFTAs.

Although, Stan did not win for The Apprentice at this year's Golden Globes, he took home the prize for 'Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy' for A Different Man. He plays Edward Lemuel, a young struggling actor suffering from neurofibromatosis in the psychological comedy film by Aaron Schimberg.

The Apprentice is directed by Ali Abbasi from a screenplay written by Gabriel Sherman. In addition to Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong, the movie also stars Martin Donovan, Maria Bakalova, Mark Rendall, Jason Blicker, Catherine McNally, Ben Sullivan, etc. in supporting roles.

The biographical film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2024, and was released in theaters in the United States on October 11, 2024. It was widely praised by critics, with both Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong nabbing acting nominations at numerous award shows. However, the film performed poorly at the box office, raking in only $17.3 million against a budget of $16 million, as per Box Office Mojo.

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What did Donald Trump say about The Apprentice?

The movie's release came less than a month before the 2024 Presidential election, in which Trump defeated the Democrat nominee Kamala Harris to become the 47th President of the United States. In January 2025, he returned to the White House for his second term, following his divisive first term that lasted from January 2017 to January 2021.

Days after the film's release in October 2024, Donald Trump made his feelings about the film clear by posting on his Truth Social:

"A FAKE and CLASSLESS Movie written about me, called, 'The Apprentice' (Do they even have the right to use that name without approval?), will hopefully 'bomb.'"

He continued:

"It’s a cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job, put out right before the 2024 Presidential Election, to try and hurt the Greatest Political Movement in the History of our Country, ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!.....which is far bigger than any of us."

In response, the film's director offered to personally meet and screen the film for Trump, saying he "would be surprised" by it.

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