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It's finally here! The long-anticipated trailer of The Apprentice has been released, and fans immediately have gone berserk with Sebastian Stan's surprising transformation into Donald Trump. Helmed by Ali Abbasi, the biographical drama caters to the scintillating formative years of Trump's career as a real estate magnate in New York City during the 1970s and 1980s.
Best known for playing Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stan is putting in an utterly different performance here: striking pose after pose in flashy suits and a signature blonde wig. The film centers around Trump's relationship with Roy Cohn, played by Succession's Jeremy Strong - a lawyer infamous for ruining reputations.
Cohn, notorious for his filthy legal methods, took Trump under his wing, and much of the film has to do with their relationship as they fight their way through the cutthroat game of New York real estate. Due to hit the U.S. screens on October 11, 2024, and U.K. screens on October 18, 2024, The Apprentice has generated considerable buzz, especially in connection with Stan's radical transformation and Strong's rendering of the cutthroat Cohn.
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Ali Abbasi, known for Border and Holy Spider, is at the helm of this most-policed political figure. Very recently, he spoke to the Los Angeles Times and made it a point to claim that the film is not some "political hit piece" but one of the trappings surrounding Trump's rise to power. The trailer insinuates a darkly funny, riveting tale of greed, power, and ambition-which makes a viewer beg for more.
Sebastian Stan's Transformation as Donald Trump in The Apprentice
Perhaps the most discussed element of The Apprentice has to be Sebastian Stan playing Donald Trump. An actor usually accustomed to headlining loud, explosive blockbusters such as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Stan has made a complete about-face in this biopic, ditching his superhero character for that of a flashy, big-character business tycoon.
The trailer showcases his ability to impersonate Trump's peculiar mannerisms, speech patterns, and general look adorned by a blonde wig and sharp suits. Stan's performance in The Apprentice is highly anticipated and promises to be one of the film's main attractions as he performs credibly young Trump into a fight to build his real estate empire.
But it is not only about the physical transformation-the manner in which Stan delves into the character reveals a Trump who is still coming to terms with the cutthroat business acumen and a bombastic personality that would later sweep American politics.
Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn: A ruthless mentor
Sebastian Stan's Trump is what sets the stage for The Apprentice. Jeremy Strong's portrayal of Roy Cohn adds to it on another level. Cohn, a one-time aide to Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare, became a notorious New York lawyer known for his tough and often unethical methods.
He took a young Donald Trump under his wing and schooled him in the "dark arts" of manipulation and power, and the film explores how this relationship shaped Trump's business and philosophies. Strong, probably best known for his role as Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession, brings a similar ruthlessness to his portrayal of Cohn.
The trailer shows Cohn manipulating the courts and coaching Trump on how to deal with business foes; he's a mentor and toxic influence at once. Their relationship forms one core of the film. Cohn's influence helped shape young Trump into a figure who would do whatever it took to get ahead, even if it meant bending or breaking the rules.
Ali Abbasi's approach to the biopic
Ali Abbasi's take on the genre of the biopic promises to be taken in its entirety. Known for his work in Border and Holy Spider, Abbasi has been recognized for his attempt to reach for the darker, more human sides that complex characters have. In The Apprentice, he does the same as he avoids looking into the biopic through a strictly political lens.
In a post-screening interview during the Telluride Film Festival, Abbasi hoped to understand the "complexities" of Trump's early years rather than deliver a flatly political critique. He said his goal was to offer an outsider's take on the American system and its institutional corruption, zeroing in on Trump's rise in the real estate world rather than his eventual political career.
Fans of biopics and political dramas alike should have much to look forward to when The Apprentice hits theaters next month.
