Sebastian Stan has worked hard to keep Donald Trump out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The actor said this week that he struggled to abandon the mannerisms he learned playing the former president The Apprentice when he arrived on the set of the MCU Lightning.
Stan plays Trump in Ali Abbasi The Apprenticeout October 11th. The Hollywood Reporter's David Rooney called the performance “excellent,” saying the actor goes “beyond imitation to capture the essence” of Trump.
In LightningScheduled for release in May 2025, Stan will reprise his role as Bucky Barnes, The Winter Soldier.
“After that I went to Marvel [The Apprentice]”, Stan said in an interview with British GQ. “And we were shooting scenes, and I'd do something, a thing or two, and I'd go, 'Fuck! This still lives somewhere.'”
Stan also shared his weight gain routine The Apprentice: Drink Coca-Cola and eat a lot of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The result worked to get into character for young Donald Trump, but caused him to transform back into a superhero Lightning quite challenging. Additionally, the filming of both films was affected by writer's and actor's strikes, meaning Stan went through periods of gaining and losing weight only to later postpone or change filming schedules.
“I'm fucking 41,” Stan said of the back and forth. “I just worked pretty hard to get in shape here!”