Sebastian Stan has addressed the difficulty he faced escaping his role as Donald Trump while filmingThunderbolts*. MCU viewers knowStan best as Bucky Barnes, a role he has played since 2011’sCaptain America: The First Avenger. Since 2011, the actor’s impressive resume has grown outsideMarvelwith roles in acclaimed films likeI, Tonya,The Martian,Logan Lucky,Fresh,Dumb Money, and the television seriesPam & Tommy. Stan hasn’t been nominated for an Academy Award, but that could change after his latest role as Trump inThe Apprentice.
Directed by Ali Abbassi,The Apprenticechronicles Trump’s business careerin New York City and his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn during the 1970s and 1980s. Trump is a challenging role for any actor because of the political controversy surrounding him and because it’s difficult to portray him without doing a cheap impression. In an interview withGQ, Stan said it was hard to escape Trump after filmingThe Apprentice,and he found the character coming out while filming his return as Bucky inThunderbolts*.

“I went off to Marvel after [The Apprentice]. And we were doing scenes, and I would do something, a thing or two, and be like, ‘F*ck! This is still living somewhere.’”
What Sebastian Stan’s Thunderbolts* Comments Mean
Stan Went Deep Into Method To Play Trump
Not every actor utilizes method acting for difficult roles, butStan decided to commit fully to his performance as Trump. According to GQ, theAvengers: Infinity Waractor “his waking hours with tapes of the young Trump playing in his ears.” Every part of his daily life was consumed by Trump, with Stan saying he couldn’t even escape the former president in his dreams.
“I slept with him, by the way. It just sort of ends up taking over your life.”

The Apprenticecurrently holds a 77% Critic Score on Rotten Tomatoes, so it looks like Stan’s commitment paid off. Many actors utilize method acting, like Jared Leto and Daniel Day-Lewis, and sometimes it can go too far. His comments suggest that it will be hard for him to shake off this performance, and it will be interesting to see how that performance is hinted at in Stan’s typically reserved performance as Bucky.
Our Take On Sebastian Stan’s Thunderbolts* Comments
Pieces of Trump could be in Bucky Barnes
The Apprenticeis scheduled to debut on Jun 18, 2025, so Stan’s portrayal of Trump will be available well beforeThunderbolts*debuts next May. Audiences will know what he sounds like as Trump, and it’s going to be incredibly difficult to ignore if any of those mannerisms suddenly make their way into his Bucky performance. Obviously, since Austin Butler played Elvis, many have noticed that the voice has stuck with him, so Stan could have a bit of a Trump voice for his next few performances.
Thunderbolts* Best Theories & Everything We Know
Marvel just gave fans their best look yet at Thunderbolts*, but there are still a lot of mysteries surrounding the film.
Audiences are already used to what Bucky sounds like and acts like, so it’ll be easy to notice if anything’s different. However, Stan is a talented actor, so it’s likely he found a way to get Trump out of his system while filmingThunderbolts*. Playing Bucky could have been what he needed to move on from his method performance as the notorious businessman.



