ForSebastian Stan, life imitating art can have its downsides.
The Oscar-nominated actor, who portrayedPresident Donald Trumpin the 2024 film"The Apprentice,"reflected on his experience making the controversial movie and the president's second term during a press conference at theCannes Film Festivalon Tuesday, May 19.
The bold biopic, written by political journalist Gabriel Sherman, chronicles Trump's transformation into a business tycoon in the '70s and '80s, depicting the president as a New York slumlord who becomes a ruthless real estate mogul under the tutelage of closeted gay lawyer Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong).
The filmaddressed shocking allegationsabout Trump's past, including claims that the former reality-TV star had a "homoerotic relationship" with Cohn, as well as allegedly raped his first wife,Ivana Trump.
While speakingat the Cannes Film Festival, Stan was asked byThe Hollywood Reporterhow "his understanding of the president has changed" since taking on the role. The actor initially looked down and shook his head, prompting laughs from the press room.
"It's just not a laughing matter, to be honest. It isn't," Stan, 43, said, per the outlet. "I think we're in a really, really bad place. I really do. When you're looking at what's happening, which is the consolidation of the media, censorship, the threats, the supposed lawsuits that seemingly never end, but don't actually go anywhere, you know, the writing was on the wall."
USA TODAY has reached out to the White House for comment.
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Released in October 2024, "The Apprentice" grossed $17.3 million at the box office and earned Stan an Academy Award nomination for best performance by an actor in a leading role.
Accolades aside, the film also drew the ire of the Trump administration. Following the film's debut at the Cannes Film Festival, a spokesperson for the president's 2024 campaignthreatened to sue filmmakersin a statement released to multiple media outlets.
Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung slammed the "garbage" movie as "pure fiction, which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked." Days after the film's theatrical release, Trump himselfweighed in on Truth Social, calling "The Apprentice" a "cheap, defamatory and politically disgusting hatchet job."
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Stan recalled the Trump administration's fierce pushback leading up to the film's premiere, "to the point where we were, three days before the festival, unsure if the movie was going to play."
"Maybe more people are paying attention to the film [now], and I think we'll stand the test of time for that," Stan said at Cannes. "But we went through all of it way beforeJimmy KimmelandStephen Colbert. I wish it wasn't like that."
Contributing: Patrick Ryan, Brendan Morrow and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Sebastian Stan criticizes Trump presidency after 'The Apprentice'
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