Yahoo Lifestyle New Trailer for Trump Biopic 'The Apprentice' Gives Peek Into President's Early Life
The Apprentice movie went through hell just to get released.
The historical drama about Donald Trump and Roy Cohn has a reported $16 million budget, some of which billionaire Dan Snyder donated to get the movie made. Snyder is a close friend of the former president and reportedly believed that the movie was going to be, essentially, a glowing endorsement for the Republican presidential nominee ... and it's decidedly not that.
The Apprentice movie includes a lot of dark elements of Trump's life, including scenes raping his then-wife, Ivana Trump (which she alleged in divorce records obtained by The New York Daily News). Donald Trump's legal team fired off a cease and desist order to try preventing the movie's release (calling it a "libelous farce," among other things).
Trump's campaign communications director Steven Cheung told Variety in a statement, "We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked. As with the illegal Biden Trials, this is election interference by Hollywood elites, who know that President Trump will retake the White House and beat their candidate of choice because nothing they have done has worked. This 'film' is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day, and doesn't even deserve a place in the straight-to-DVD section of a bargain bin at a soon-to-be-closed discount movie store, it belongs in a dumpster fire."
The film's producers denied the allegations of election interference and said it was a "fair and balanced" portrayal of the former and possibly future president. Due to the potential legal issues, producers launched a Kickstarter campaign for the movie's marketing costs and quickly surpassed their goal.
Phew! Now that all that backstory is out of the way, here's everything to know about the movie itself.
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When is The Apprentice movie release date?
The Apprentice will be released on Oct. 11, 2024 in theaters a few weeks before the 2024 presidential election.
Who plays Trump in the movie Apprentice?
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Sebastian Stan will embody Trump in The Apprentice. He's most famous for playing Bucky Barnes (The Winter Soldier) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but he's got a lot of other meaty roles under his belt: He played a cannibal serial killer in 2022's Fresh and Tommy Lee in the Hulu miniseries Pam & Tommy.
He's also set to star in the upcoming A24 film A Different Man and appeared in critically acclaimed movies including I, Tonya; The Martian and Rachel Getting Married, plus TV series like the original Gossip Girl and Political Animals.
The role is in line with what Stan previously said his goals are for his career as a whole.
"More and more as I've gotten older, when I read something that really kind of freaks me out a little bit and I get the voice that's like, 'Don't ever go near this,' then I'm more drawn to it as a result," he told IndieWire in 2022. "I find usually that fear is a good indicator of something that I have to sort of step into perhaps to understand better."
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Who else is in The Apprentice movie cast?
Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump
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Bulgarian actress Maria Bakalova stars as Ivana Trump, Donald's first wife. You may recognize her from Borat Subsequent Movie Film, in which she had a memorable (and possibly traumatic) scene with Trump's real-life one-time lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. (She also voiced Cosmo the talking pooch in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3!)
Scythia Films
Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn
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Succession star (and Emmy and Tony Award winner!) Jeremy Strong plays the late Roy Cohn, Trump's attorney and onetime right-hand man to Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
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Ben Sullivan as Russell Eldridge
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Ben Sullivan plays Russell Eldridge, who Cohn publicly said was his secretary, but who was actually his lover. Sullivan's most notable role prior to The Apprentice was in Stonewall.
Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr.
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Martin Donovan plays Fred Trump Sr., Donald's father who began the Trump real estate dynasty. You may recognize him from Weeds, Tenet and Insomnia, among other projects.
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Charlie Carrick as Fred Trump Jr.
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Charlie Carrick is Fred Trump Jr., in The Apprentice, Donald's older brother. Fred Jr. eschewed going into the family real estate empire to pursue becoming an airline pilot, leading Donald to inherit his father's business instead. Carrick previously starred in TV's Reign and has appeared in numerous other shows.
Mark Rendall as Daniel Sullivan
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Mark Rendall plays Daniel Sullivan, who The Washington Post described as a labor consultant who had ties to New York City's organized crime families. He's voiced the title character in the animated series Arthur and has appeared in movies like Charlie Bartlett and 30 Days of Night.
Joe Pingue as Anthony Salerno
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Anthony Salerno, onetime leader of the Genovese crime family, is played by Joe Pingue.
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What is The Apprentice movie about?
The Apprentice follows Donald Trump's career in real estate in the 1970s and 1980s in New York City, with a specific focus on Trump's association with Roy Cohn, then a prosecutor in New York City.
Does Netflix have The Apprentice?
Netflix doesn't have The Apprentice in its catalog at this time.
Where to watch The Apprentice movie
The Apprentice will be in theaters beginning Oct. 11, 2024. Presumably it will be available on video on demand sometime in late 2024 or early 2025.
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Is The Apprentice on Prime Video?
The Apprentice movie isn't yet on Prime Video. It's unclear if it'll be added to the Amazon roster of streaming films.
When is The Apprentice movie release date on Netflix?
No Netflix release date has yet been announced for The Apprentice movie.
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Where can I watch The Apprentice movie trailer?
On Sept. 10, 2024 The Apprentice dropped its first full length trailer right in time for the presidential debate.
