In the shadow of his second presidency and the intense scrutiny on every decision he makes, the 2024 biographical drama The Apprentice (starring Sebastian Stan) has once again captured the nation’s attention. While many still debate the film’s fictionalized portrayal of Donald Trump’s early years under Roy Cohn, its portrayal of ambition, ruthlessness, and calculated power has become eerily relevant to today’s political landscape. From the 1970s real-estate wars to the Oval Office, Sebastian Stan’s transformative performance as young Trump offers a chilling mirror to the decision-making style that continues to define Trump’s governance in 2026. As the film hits new streaming audiences and sparks fresh debate, it raises urgent questions: How much of that original playbook is still guiding America’s most powerful leader? And what does it say about the choices that will shape the rest of his term?
Plot and Cast
The narrative traces young Donald Trump (Sebastian Stan), a second-generation real estate heir determined to escape his father’s shadow, who encounters Roy Cohn (Jeremy Strong) in 1973. Cohn, a ruthless political fixer and mentor, imparts strategies of “attack, attack, attack,” “admit nothing, deny everything,” and relentless legal warfare. Over the following years, Trump applies these tactics to build properties while navigating personal relationships, including his turbulent marriage to Ivana Trump (Maria Bakalova). The story culminates in Trump’s rise in the 1980s and his gradual distancing from Cohn, who succumbs to AIDS in 1986. The title evokes both the mentor-apprentice dynamic and the broader theme of empire-building through calculated ruthlessness. The film is presented as “inspired by true events” and employs a humanist lens, focusing on power, ambition, and human complexity rather than mere sensationalism. Cohn — a man whose career spanned the McCarthy era, the Rosenbergs, and relentless political warfare — distills his entire philosophy of power into three simple rules: attack, attack, attack; admit nothing, deny everything; and always claim victory, never admit defeat. Young Trump, desperate for a mentor who will protect him from his father’s shadow, swallows these words whole. From that day forward, Cohn’s playbook became his own. Years later, when Trump sits down with the ghostwriter of The Art of the Deal and recites the exact same three rules as his guiding principles, the connection is unmistakable.
Sebastian Stan delivers a nuanced, physically transformative portrayal of Donald Trump spanning two decades, complete with prosthetics, voice work, and a golden toupee that let him convey the character’s shifting ambition, naivety, and eventual ruthlessness; Jeremy Strong, known for Succession, is widely hailed for his dead-eyed, intellectually menacing performance as Roy Cohn—one of the film’s undisputed highlights—as the closeted, politically toxic mentor; Maria Bakalova (fresh off Borat Subsequent Moviefilm) brings vitality and nuance to Ivana Trump, while supporting roles from Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr., Charlie Carrick as Fred Trump Jr., and Emily Mitchell as Ivanka Trump (in a limited capacity) round out the ensemble.
Behind the Scenes
The project originated in 2018 but faced multiple delays. Danish-Iranian director Ali Abbasi (known for Border and Holy Spider) joined in 2023 alongside writer Gabriel Sherman and Stan/Strong. An international co-production between Canada, Denmark, and Ireland (with U.S. elements) facilitated financing, as U.S. studios declined involvement. Principal photography took place in Toronto in late 2023, utilizing 52 locations and 83 sets to evoke New York. The $16 million budget was completed rapidly, with post-production in Ireland. Visual style shifts from grainy 1970s film stock to VHS/Betacam aesthetics in the 1980s. A controversial scene depicting Trump as assaulting Ivana (drawn from her 1990 divorce deposition) was retained in the Cannes version and later refined.
Independent distribution secured the theatrical run. Critics responded positively overall (Rotten Tomatoes: approximately 81% fresh), commending the performances, directing, editing, and its provocative examination of power and ideology. Some noted ribald elements, fictionalized dialogue, and historical inaccuracies, while others appreciated its humanistic approach and emotional depth. Audience scores were solid but tempered by controversy.
Reviews and Awards
The Apprentice received largely positive reviews from critics, who praised the strong lead performances by Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong—with many calling Strong’s portrayal “vampiric” and magnetic and Stan’s a “nuanced” evolution from ambitious striver to ruthless operator—as well as the film’s stylish 1970s-to-1980s visual shift and its humanistic, character-driven look at power, ambition, and ideology rather than pure mockery. Rotten Tomatoes scores are 82% Tomatometer (Certified Fresh, based on ~250 critics) and 86% Audience (Popcornmeter); the critics’ consensus describes it as “a simplistic yet entertaining foray into the world of a young Trump” that gives Stan a chance to shine, while some reviewers noted it feels more like a character study than a deep probe and occasionally indulges ribald or fictionalized elements. Metacritic gives critics 64/100 (Generally Favorable, based on 54 reviews) and audiences 6.8/10; IMDb is 7.1/10 (based on ~75,000–107,000 ratings), with viewers often calling it a “well-crafted character study” on a polarizing figure that humanizes its subject while acknowledging his ruthless traits. Common critic themes include strong acting carrying the film, compelling period visuals (grainy 1970s stock vs. VHS-style 1980s), and a balanced examination of ambition’s darker side, though some found it sentimental, lacking depth, or too lenient in its treatment of Trump’s early playbook.
Audience reactions were similarly mixed-positive, with many appreciating the performances and emotional arc but a few calling it “forgettable” or not going far enough into his flaws. Key highlights include The New York Times calling it a “Critic’s Pick” that humanizes Trump as a “classic American striver,” Chicago Sun-Times naming the performances “most impressive,” and Hollywood Reporter praising Stan for conveying the “essence of the man,” while the Guardian criticized it as a “cartoon version” and “lenient… indulgent TV movie-style treatment.”
The film grossed approximately $17.3 million worldwide ($4.0 million domestic, $13.3 million international), underperforming relative to its $16 million budget despite strong international results and earning critical recognition, including a Cannes Palme d’Or nomination and multiple awards/nominations at the 97th Academy Awards (Best Actor for Sebastian Stan and Best Supporting Actor for Jeremy Strong), the 82nd Golden Globe Awards (Best Actor – Drama for Stan and Best Supporting Actor for Strong), the BAFTA Awards (Best Leading Actor for Stan, Best Supporting Actor for Strong, and Best Casting), as well as additional nominations and wins at the César Awards, Independent Spirit Awards, Florida Film Critics Circle, London Film Critics Circle, and various critics’ circles.
Trump’s Reaction
Following the Cannes success, Trump’s legal team issued a cease-and-desist letter, and his campaign spokesman called the film “pure fiction” and “pure malicious defamation.” President Trump publicly denounced the film in a Truth Social post shortly after its theatrical release and following its weak box-office debut. He described it as a “FAKE and CLASSLESS Movie,” a “cheap, defamatory, and politically disgusting hatchet job” released “right before the 2024 Presidential Election” to “hurt the Greatest Political Movement in the History of our Country, ‘MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’” Trump expressed hope it “will hopefully ‘bomb’” and criticized screenwriter Gabriel Sherman as a “lowlife and talentless hack.” He maintained that his relationship with Ivana Trump was “great” until she died in 2022. His campaign had previously threatened legal action, calling the film “pure malicious defamation,” but no lawsuit was filed
The Apprentice remains a provocative and culturally resonant origin story that humanizes Trump’s formative years under Roy Cohn while exposing the ruthless playbook that defined his later empire, earning critical acclaim for its sharp performances and stylish period visuals even as it underperformed at the box office and drew sharp political backlash. As of August 2026, the film continues to spark conversation about ambition, mentorship, and the blurred lines between biography and satire, available for digital rental or purchase on platforms including Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
