Sebastian Stan Reveals What He Told Studio Exec Who Advised Against Trump Role

Sebastian Stan, who stars as a young Donald Trump in the biographical film “The Apprentice,” revealed on Thursday that an unnamed studio CEO was one of critics who helped fuel him to take the part.

Stan, in an appearance on “The Tonight Show,” told host Jimmy Fallon that he was more energized to portray Trump after his dinner with the executive.

“He said, ‘Don’t do that, you’re going to alienate half the country, you’re Bucky Barnes,’” recalled Stan, who plays Barnes/Winter Soldier in 2014 superhero film “Captain America: The Winter Soldier.”

“And I was like, ’I know, he’s brainwashed, too.”

Stan’s appearance on “The Tonight Show” aired on the same day that Variety released the latest lineup for its “Actors on Actors,” a popular video series that features Hollywood stars interviewing each other.

Two weeks after the election, Stan revealed that he was invited to take part in the series as other actors were “too afraid” to discuss the Ali Abbasi-directed film, which depicted Trump’s time as a real estate developer in the ’70s and ’80s as well as his relationship with lawyer Roy Cohn (played by Jeremy Strong).

His attorneys reportedly sent a cease-and-desist letter to those behind “The Apprentice” in May and Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung threatened to sue over the film, as well. No lawsuit has been filed.

Variety co-editor-in-chief Ramin Setoodeh later confirmed that the publication invited Stan but other actors “didn’t want to talk about” Trump.

Hollywood’s apparent refusal to discuss Trump with Stan caught the attention of social media users on Thursday as they called out actors who eventually took part in the Variety series including Kamala Harris supporters Ariana Grande, Colman Domingo and Demi Moore.