Sebastian Stan to Portray Young Donald Trump in Ensemble Film ‘The Apprentice’

Sebastian Stan is set to portray a young Donald Trump in a movie from filmmaker Ali Abbasi.

The Apprentice began principal photography this week and features an ensemble cast that includes Jeremy Strong and Maria Bakalova. The film focuses on Trump as he builds his real estate business in New York City in the 1970s and ’80s, according to media reports.

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Abbasi (Holy Spider) is directing from a script by Gabriel Sherman. The latter’s biography of Fox News founder Roger Ailes, The Loudest Voice in the Room, was the basis for Showtime’s 2019 miniseries The Loudest Voice that starred Russell Crowe.

The Apprentice is described as a mentor-protégé narrative that documents the start of an American dynasty and tackles themes including power, corruption and deception.

Producers of The Apprentice are Daniel Bekerman of Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek of Profile Pictures and Ruth Treacy of Taylored Films. Executive producing are Sherman, Grant Johnson and Amy Baer, in association with financier Kinematics, which is led by founder and CEO Mark Rapaport and president Emanuel Nuñez.

Stan earned an Emmy nomination for his role as drummer Tommy Lee in Hulu’s biographical miniseries Pam & Tommy opposite Lily James as Pamela Anderson. His other work includes this year’s Sony film Dumb Money, the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier and the 2017 fact-based movie I, Tonya.

Strong recently concluded his Emmy-winning role as Kendall Roy on HBO’s Succession and starred in the 2022 feature Armageddon Time.

Bakalova is known for such films as Borat Subsequent Moviefilm — for which she received an Oscar nomination — Bodies Bodies Bodies and The Bubble.

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