NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Even in an , most seem to agree on one aspect about Ali Abbasi鈥檚 much-debated Donald Trump film Sebastian Stan is a remarkably good Trump and is chillingly riveting as the New York power broker Roy Cohn.
One reviewer recently wrote that Strong鈥檚 portrayal of Cohn is 鈥渦ncanny in its accuracy.鈥� The critic? Longtime Trump adviser .
Since in May, after which the Trump campaign , 鈥淭he Apprentice鈥� has been hounded by controversy. Its makers have had to , which, in opening Thursday, comes just weeks ahead of the election. The Trump campaign 鈥渆lection interference by Hollywood elites.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e way out on a limb,鈥� Strong says.
The movie, about Cohn鈥檚 mentorship of a young Trump in the greed-is-good 1980s, is a dramatic election-year provocation. It鈥檚 an origin story of the Republican nominee beginning with Cohn, the ruthless attorney whose tactics of deny-deny-deny made him a sought-after fixer for the mafia, chief counsel for Sen. Joseph McCarthy鈥檚 communist witch hunt and a guru to Trump when he was trying to make a name for himself in New York real estate.
鈥淗is defiance of reality, and his denial of reality, to me are the signature components of what he instilled in his star pupil,鈥� Strong says, noting that Cohn鈥檚 boat was named Defiance. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a legacy of mendacity and lies and denialism and the aggressive pursuit of winning as the only moral measure.鈥�
鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� directed by the Iranian-Danish filmmaker Abbasi and scripted by Gabriel Sherman, puts the Cohn-Trump relationship at its center, and in doing so, gives Strong and Stan two of the best roles of their careers. Strong calls Cohn 鈥減robably the single most fascinating person I鈥檝e ever studied and interrogated and attempted to inhabit.鈥�
For two much-satirized figures, the performances are uncommonly humanistic. Cohn has a rich tradition of portrayals, including Al Pacino in Tony Kushner鈥檚 鈥淎ngels in America.鈥� But Strong鈥檚 Cohn is uniquely authentic and camp-free. Trump, of course, has been mostly played with 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥�-style parody. But Stan鈥檚 Trump is a blank-slate striver, eager to be molded by Cohn. Abbasi says, 鈥淚 still don鈥檛 know exactly how he did it.鈥�
Most actors wanted nothing to do with playing Trump. But Stan signed up, and stuck with the production over several years.
鈥淚 went on the ride,鈥� Stan says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 very easy to just keep doing things that you feel you鈥檝e gotten good at. Then something comes along and it feels like such a crazy mountain to climb.鈥�
That may go doubly for 鈥淭he Apprentice,鈥� a movie that cobbled together financing and struggled to find distribution before Briarcliff Entertainment stepped forward this fall. Sherman first began writing it in 2017. He had covered the 2016 Trump campaign for New York magazine and took note when a Trump associate commented on Trump employing Cohn鈥檚 strategies.
Trump, who first met Cohn in 1973 and remained close friends until Cohn鈥檚 death in 1986, has spoken about his admiration for him. 鈥淩oy was brutal, but he was a very loyal guy,鈥� Trump told author Tim O鈥橞rien. 鈥淗e brutalized for you.鈥� Politico鈥檚 Michael Kruse in 2016 , writing: 鈥淐ohn鈥檚 philosophy shaped the real estate mogul鈥檚 worldview and the belligerent public persona visible in Trump鈥檚 presidential campaign.鈥�
Strong had first been drawn to playing Cohn several years ago for a project that ultimately didn鈥檛 happen. But it got Strong thinking about the intriguing paradoxes of Cohn. If finding a character means finding their pulse, Strong says, 鈥渋n this case, it鈥檚 a sort of reptilian pulse.鈥�
鈥淚n terms of a sociological, anthropological study, I find him to be a completely fascinating character,鈥� says Strong. 鈥淢y own judgments have to be left at the door. But it was like peering into the heart of darkness.鈥�
For the two actors, 鈥淭he Apprentice鈥� posed a particular challenge in balancing judgment and empathy. The film has engendered a spectrum of reaction. Abbasi has claimed Trump might not dislike the film and invited him to see it. Others have criticized the movie for bringing any degree of sympathy to its lead characters.
鈥淭he only way we can learn is through empathy,鈥� Stan says. 鈥淲e have to protect empathy and continue to nourish it. And I think one way of nourishing empathy is showing what it鈥檚 exact opposite can be.鈥�
鈥�(Cohn) didn鈥檛 believe in showing vulnerability,鈥� says Strong. 鈥淗e was only interested in projecting strength, and I find that very tragic.鈥�
Ultimately, the makers of 鈥淭he Apprentice鈥� argue that all of the tools of drama serve a vital role in bringing a deeper understanding to even the most polarizing political figures.
Strong and Stan find themselves in the unlikely position of being scorned by the potential future president for a movie that had to resort to seeking money via Kickstarter. (The campaign ) As much as they鈥檙e far out on a limb, both are seen as
鈥淒o I think it鈥檚 going to change people鈥檚 minds? I鈥檓 not sure,鈥� says Strong. 鈥淒o I think it will help anyone who sees this movie have a great understanding of the origins of where we are now? Yes, I do. And do I think it could infinitesimally move the needle in a direction that I hope we move in? I do.鈥�
Jake Coyle, The Associated Press
