US shuns anti-Trump films, says actor who played president
US shuns anti-Trump films, says actor who played president
India McTaggartTue, November 10, 2026 at 7:00 AM UTC
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Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump in the 2024 film The Apprentice - PA Media
Films that are critical of Donald Trump’s administration are harder to promote in the United States, Sebastian Stan has suggested.
The Marvel actor, who played the US president in the 2024 film The Apprentice, claimed filmmakers were choosing Europe instead for “more freedom” with their films.
In an interview with Radio Times, Stan said: “Now you’ve got, for instance, the Alex Gibney Musk documentary, and the trailer isn’t being played on X…that’s the US at the moment.
“Anytime a movie tries to get at the core of the situation, it gets harder. That’s why a lot of filmmakers are looking to Europe to have more freedom with their projects.”
The actor’s remarks came after the trailer for Alex Gibney’s new Elon Musk documentary, which is a highly critical investigative account of the world’s richest man, was unable to get paid advertising on major social media platforms for reasons related to “political content”.
Stan said he ‘didn’t look’ to see if there was criticism of his role - Alamy Stock Photo
Just after the almost four-hour film was released in more than 470 cinemas across North America in October, YouTube, TikTok, Instagram and Facebook all declined to run the promotional video for the documentary, titled Musk.
The tech billionaire’s own platform, X, also did not run the trailer. Mr Musk himself has attacked the film, calling Gibney a “bitter old man” who was “obviously going to make the most convincingly terrible hit piece on me that he can possibly think of”.
The film tracks Mr Musk’s rise through the dotcom boom to becoming the world’s richest man. It also covers how the Tesla and SpaceX founder became Mr Trump’s biggest donor during the 2024 election campaign before being appointed as head of the president’s department of government efficiency.
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Alex Gibney’s documentary looks at the relationship between Elon Musk and Donald Trump - REUTERS/Nathan Howard
Gibney’s previous subjects have included Vladimir Putin’s Russia and the collapse of Enron. The director has previously spoken about how many people were too scared to contribute to his latest film, because of an “almost existential fear” of the consequences.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the documentary’s distributor, Bleecker Street, was unable to purchase ads for the film on certain social media sites as well. The move raised questions over freedom of speech.
Alex Gibney, Ashley St. Clair and Zoe Schiffer pose during a photocall for the documentary Musk - REUTERS
Elsewhere in the interview, Stan was asked whether he received “backlash” for his portrayal of Trump and his relationship with Roy Cohn, the late lawyer, but said he “didn’t look”.
The actor, 44, also said he was “typecast” in his 20s because of his looks, noting: “I felt very trapped being so typecast as a result of the way I looked.
“I found it very limiting, acting-wise. It didn’t allow me to do much.”
In his new film, Fjord, which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, Stan plays an evangelical Romanian father who is balding.
Discussing changing his appearance for the role, he said: “When I get to change my look, it relaxes me in a way.
“It takes me out of my head and I’m able to focus on the story of the character. It’s liberating.”
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
