Set during the formative years of Donald Trump’s business journey, The Apprentice explores the dynamic between Trump and Roy Cohn, a notorious New York City attorney famed for his association with Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare. For a considerable period, it appeared that American audiences might not get to see the film due to challenges in securing a distributor and legal threats from Trump’s camp. However, the film is now poised to premiere in U.S. theaters this October, just weeks ahead of Election Day.
This dramatic portrayal details how a young Donald Trump, played by Sebastian Stan—widely recognized for his role as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel films—established his business in the 1970s and 1980s under the mentorship of the infamous and cunning lawyer Roy Cohn, portrayed by Jeremy Strong, who gained acclaim for his Emmy-winning role as Kendall Roy in Succession. The screenplay was penned by journalist Gabriel Sherman, with direction by Iranian filmmaker Ali Abbasi.
In an interview with TheWrap, Abbasi emphasized that the film not only chronicles how Cohn influenced Trump into becoming the figure we recognise today but also serves as a commentary on the American legal system and its inherent corruption, which allowed figures like Cohn to manipulate power at will.
The film also features Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump, known for her Academy Award-nominated performance in Borat Subsequent Moviefilm. Additional cast members include Trump’s parents and siblings, Roger Stone, Andy Warhol, Ed Koch, Rupert Murdoch, and a young Ivanka Trump, though it seems the film won’t showcase all the prominent figures from the MAGA movement we are familiar with today.
The Apprentice debuted at the Cannes Film Festival this past May, receiving mostly favourable reviews from critics. Notably, one of the film’s strongest critics was the Trump campaign, whose spokesperson Steven Cheung claimed they would pursue legal action against the film, labeling it as “garbage” and accusing it of being “election interference by Hollywood elites.”
