“Art is supposed to highlight the things that we can’t always communicate. It’s supposed to go deeper on an instinctive level. For us to understand the values that we’re upholding—the virtues, morality, grace, depth, empathy… we have to know what the opposites are. Part of what The Apprentice is about is that a lot of what we feel about people is our own projection of that. When we’re handed circumstances to view a person differently, you will see the thing that you’re supposed to see.”
-Sebastian Stan, episode 397 of Talk Easy with Sam Fragoso
Actor Sebastian Stan has built a career out of shapeshifting.
This week, he joins us to discuss the process of transforming into Donald J. Trump in The Apprentice (8:27), his personal relationship to the American dream (15:35), and the extensive research that went into recreating 1970s-1980s New York City in the film (17:27). Then, we unpack Sebastian’s Romanian upbringing (29:00), the gift of his unconventional, nomadic childhood (34:40), and what the film represents in this post-Election moment (38:30).
On the back-half, we talk about the impact of the late director Jonathan Demme (50:45), Stan’s radical and stunning work in A Different Man (55:08), what both of his new films reveal about reality (59:14), and what the silencing of The Apprentice—and his Actors on Actors shutout—reveals about the entertainment industry (1:00:00). To close, a reflection about control and how Sebastian embraces everyday life (1:17:55).
Thoughts or future guest ideas? Email us at [email protected].
Show-notes:
- Watch Sebastian’s latest performances in The Apprentice and A Different Man.
- See selections of his previous work: Pam & Tommy, Fresh, I, Tonya, Logan Lucky, The Martian, Captain America: The First Avenger, and Rachel Getting Married.
- For more talks, hear our conversations with Jesse Eisenberg, Joaquin Phoenix, and Tom Hanks.
- Order your Talk Easy mug in cream and navy or our vinyl record with Fran Lebowitz.
Illustrations by Krishna Shenoi. Reference photograph by Christina House.
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Special thanks to Callie Connelly who provided research assistance on this episode.