Movies are often believed to be reflections of how society thinks and works, and probably that is one of the reasons why there are so many genres in the world of cinema. However, things get tricky when movies try to present a real-life story, especially if politics get involved.
Sebastian Stan was recently seen playing Donald Trump in The Apprentice, which already raised many eyebrows. Now, Variety is coming up with its new season of the Actors on Actors series, and it ignited talks about Stan and The Apprentice once again.
Netizens Hit Back After Sebastian Stan Was Snubbed on Actors on Actors
Actors on Actors is a talk show series that first premiered on PBS SoCal in 2014. In the show, one actor interviews another actor about his projects, career, and life in general. Variety is bringing the 21st season of the talk show, which will begin on December 9.
However, the thing that troubled fans was that Sebastian Stan was supposed to appear this season for The Apprentice. During a screening of the film in LA, Stan revealed that Variety did invite him this season, but no publicist allowed their actor to interview him about the Donald Trump biopic. Stan said (via MaggieMinLA on X),
You know, I’ve got to do a lot of great things, and that’s not pointing at anyone specific. We couldn’t get past the publicists or the people representing them, because [they were] too afraid to talk about this movie.
Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh confirmed Stan’s statements to People and stated,
What Sebastian said is accurate. We invited him to participate in Actors on Actors, the biggest franchise of awards season, but other actors didn’t want to pair with him because they didn’t want to talk about Donald Trump.
Variety has released the list of actors who will be featured this time. The list includes Andrew Garfield and Ryan Reynolds, Ariana Grande and Paul Mescal, Selena Gomez and Saoirse Ronan, Angelina Jolie and Cynthia Erivo, and many more big names.
Netizens fired back, and some took shots against the actors on the list for disagreeing to interview Stan. Moreover, it might look worse to Stan fans as Ariana Grande, who is yet to establish her status as an actor has secured a spot whereas someone like Stan was sidelined.
Remember every single one of these people refused to talk to Sebastian Stan https://t.co/BLph3DYcIR
— TylerCWhitmore (@TylerCWhitmore) December 5, 2024
Hard to looks at this and not think of Sebastian Stan, with that being said, I will still be glued to the screen when they post Daniel Craig and Josh O’Connor.
— JT Kratzer (@jtkratz) December 5, 2024
No Sebastian Stan??? pic.twitter.com/MY3VMCABJb
— Brett Ellison (@mostxtremepod) December 5, 2024
Yeah, I'm side eyeing Hollywood's spineless hypocrisy, because Variety specifically invited Sebastian Stan as well and not one of these actors wanted to sit down with him. smh
— Lydia💜 (@Maylily99) December 5, 2024
Interesting how none of these sat down with Sebastian Stan
— Juan RC 🇵🇷 (@elclass_king) December 5, 2024
The situation happened as some actors in and outside the list endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential elections. According to Billboard, Grande herself took to Instagram to console her followers who felt “immeasurable heaviness” after Trump’s win.
Moreover, many didn’t want to be a part of any controversy because of the sensitive topic. However, The Apprentice is not about Trump’s political era, it deals with his rise as a real estate businessman during the 70s and 80s.
Sebastian Stan Bags Award Nomination for The Apprentice
The Apprentice faced many challenges since its inception. Firstly, many actors refused to portray Donald Trump on screen. Then after the movie was made, it faced significant challenges in marketing and distribution.
According to Deadline, the movie was labeled anti-Trump by his supporters, and campaigns and efforts were made to limit its release. Furthermore, its trailer was supposed to be released with George Clooney and Brad Pitt’s Wolfs, but their movie chose to be a limited release and went straight to Apple TV+, which further affected its marketing.
The Apprentice managed to gross over $12 million worldwide (as per Box Office Mojo) and has similar critic and audience ratings of 83% and 84%, respectively, on Rotten Tomatoes. Talking about the positives, it has managed to bag some award nominations.
The Donald Trump biopic is nominated in the categories of Best Indie Feature and Best Editing for the Astra Film Awards and Independent Spirit Awards, respectively. Moreover, Ali Abbassi and Sebastian Stan are also nominated for the latter.
Stan, popularly known for portraying Winter Soldier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, took on the challenge of playing a political figure during sensitive times, which came with a price, but his performance was well appreciated by both critics and fans.
The Apprentice is available to stream on Prime Video.
\nFrequently asked questions
\nWhy was Sebastian Stan reportedly snubbed by Variety’s Actors on Actors?
According to the article, Variety invited Sebastian Stan to its Actors on Actors series (Season 21), but no other actor would agree to be paired with him to discuss his Donald Trump biopic The Apprentice. Stan said his team “couldn’t get past the publicists” because the other camps were too afraid to talk about the movie. Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh confirmed the account, saying other actors didn’t want to pair with him because they didn’t want to talk about Donald Trump.
\nWhat is The Apprentice, the film at the center of the snub?
The Apprentice is the biopic in which Sebastian Stan plays a young Donald Trump, focusing on his rise as a real-estate businessman in the 1970s and 1980s rather than his later political career. Directed by Ali Abbasi, the film reportedly grossed around $12 million worldwide and drew strong reviews, and it earned awards-season recognition including Independent Spirit Award nominations.
\nWho else was featured in this season of Actors on Actors, including Ariana Grande?
The article lists the Season 21 lineup as Andrew Garfield with Ryan Reynolds, Ariana Grande with Paul Mescal, Selena Gomez with Saoirse Ronan, and Angelina Jolie with Cynthia Erivo, among others. In the series, one actor interviews another about their projects, career, and life. Ariana Grande landing a spot is framed as making Stan’s exclusion sting more.
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