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Sebastian “Winter Soldier” Stan is pulling out all the stops for his acting roles this year! To portray a young Donald Trump in the upcoming movie The Apprentice, he packed on 15 pounds and even used makeup to alter his appearance for another film, A Different Man. Despite these major changes, a recent photoshoot with Variety had us all saying, “Have mercy, zaddy!” in admiration.
In one striking shot, Stan flaunts his impressive arms in a snug black tank top. Another photo captures him in a thoughtful pose, wearing a gray cardigan and white shorts while jamming out with headphones and a retro Walkman. He also rocks a denim-on-denim look, lounging barefoot on crisp white sheets. In yet another snap, he dons a white t-shirt and gazes intently at the camera, showcasing those well-defined muscles. Honestly, it’s enough to make us forget our reservations about him playing Donald Trump!
The buzz around Stan’s photos was palpable, with fans reacting enthusiastically on social media. One commenter expressed their love for the nostalgic Walkman, while others conveyed their excitement without needing words at all.
In a recent chat with Variety, Stan shared his insights on playing Donald Trump, stating that the former president is “smarter than people think.” The Apprentice features Jeremy Strong from Succession as Trump’s fixer, Roy Cohn, and is set in the 1970s and ’80s, before Trump became a reality TV star and entered politics. The film is hitting theaters on October 11.
To prepare for the role, Stan immersed himself in Trump’s persona by studying photos and audio recordings of a younger Trump. “I realized I needed to adjust how I spoke,” he explained, noting that he had over 130 videos of Trump’s physicality and another 562 videos of images from various decades to analyze his speech patterns and mannerisms.
But that’s not all—this year, Stan also stars in A Different Man, which hit theaters on September 20. In this film, he plays a character named Edward, who has a disfigured face and undergoes surgery to regain his good looks. When a reporter referred to Edward pre-surgery as a “beast,” Stan responded, saying, “That’s not the right word.” He emphasized that the film challenges our preconceived notions about appearance and encourages a deeper understanding of such experiences.
Discussing his transformation for A Different Man, Stan told Vanity Fair, “It affected everything: my body, my physicality, and how the world perceived me while walking around New York as Edward.” Regarding his time in makeup for the Trump role, he mentioned, “I spent two hours in the makeup chair every morning, another hour to take it all off at night, and then an hour to drive home.” Honestly, we’d watch Sebastian Stan in just about any role—even when his stunning face is hidden under layers of makeup or beneath Trump’s infamous hairstyle!