Actor Sebastian Stan delivered a forceful critique of US President Donald Trump during an appearance at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, where his latest film Fjord received strong critical attention in the main competition.
Sebastian Stan slams Donald Trump at Cannes
Stan addressed Trump while reflecting on the controversy surrounding “The Apprentice”, the 2024 biographical drama directed by Ali Abbasi. The film, which premiered at Cannes shortly before the US presidential election, depicted Trump’s early rise in New York real estate and his relationship with political fixer Roy Cohn. Stan portrayed Trump in the film, a performance that drew widespread discussion and awards-season attention.
When asked about the film now that Trump has returned to office, Stan rejected the laughter that reportedly spread through the press room.
“It’s just not a laughing matter, to be honest. It isn’t,” the actor said.
He continued, “I think we’re in a really, really bad place. I really do. And to be honest with you, when you’re looking at what’s happening, right — if we’re talking about the consolidation of the media, censorship, threats, the supposed lawsuits that seemingly never end but don’t actually go anywhere. You know, the writing was on the wall. We encountered all that with the movie.”
Trump had publicly condemned ‘The Apprentice’ ahead of its Cannes debut in 2024, branding the film “garbage” and “pure fiction” while threatening legal action in an attempt to stop its release. The controversy intensified global interest in the project and placed the cast and filmmakers under intense scrutiny during the festival.
Stan recalled the uncertainty surrounding the premiere.
“Three days before the festival, [we were] unsure if the movie was going to play the festival,” Stan said. “So maybe people are paying attention more to that film, I think it will stand the test of time for that. But we went through all of it, right before Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert and so on. So, I wish it wasn’t like that.”
His comments came as he attended Cannes with Fjord, the latest feature from acclaimed Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu. The drama stars Stan alongside Norwegian actor Renate Reinsve and has emerged as one of the festival’s most discussed competition titles.
Written, co-produced and directed by Mungiu, Fjord follows a Romanian-Norwegian family that relocates to a remote Norwegian village connected to the mother’s past. After concerns emerge about the couple’s behaviour towards their children, the family becomes the subject of mounting suspicion and scrutiny within the isolated community.
The film premiered in Cannes’ main competition on 18 May and is competing for the Palme d’Or, the festival’s highest prize. Early reviews praised Mungiu’s restrained direction and the performances of Stan and Reinsve, with critics highlighting the film’s examination of paranoia, cultural tension and social judgement.
