Actor Sebastian Stan said he gained “a lot of weight” in order to play Donald Trump in upcoming film The Apprentice.
The 42-year-old told Variety he gained 15 pounds over two months in order to play the former US president in the movie, which tells the story of Mr Trump’s career as a real estate businessman in the 1970s and 1980s.
Stan also told the US publication he felt Mr Trump is “a lot smarter than people want to say” and added that he felt the 78-year-old had created a brand “because he repeats things consistently”.
When asked how much weight he could gain in a short space of time by the film’s director Ali Abbasi, he said: “You’d be surprised, you can gain a lot of weight in two months.”
He went on to say that he had researched his character in detail, including how he was paying tax in 1983, in case Abbasi asked him to speak about it in character.
Speaking about getting into character for the role, the Romanian-born actor added: “I had 130 videos on his physicality on my phone.
“And 562 videos that I had pulled with pictures from different time periods — from the 70s all the way to today — so I could pull out his speech patterns and try to improvise like him.”
Abbasi and Stan also spoke about controversy surrounding the film, given it is set to be released on October 11 in the US, before the country goes to the polls in November, where Mr Trump will bid for his second term as president, against current vice-president Kamala Harris.
Abbasi, 43, said: “I am quite shocked, to be honest, this is not a political piece. It’s not a hit piece, it’s not a hatchet job, it’s not propaganda.
“The fact that it’s been so challenging is shocking.”
While Stan added: “Everything with this film has been one day at a time.
“There are a lot of people who love reading the (film’s) Wikipedia page and throwing out their opinions.
“But they don’t actually know what they’re talking about. That’s a popular sport now online, apparently.”
Stan is best known for his role as Bucky Barnes, known as Winter Soldier, in the Captain America and Avengers Marvel film series.
He also featured in the TV series Gossip Girl as Carter Baizen, and had roles in 2017 film Logan Lucky and 2018’s I, Tonya.
The Apprentice will be released in UK cinemas on October 18.
