‘Fjord’ Star Sebastian Stan Didn’t Set Out to Play Another Conservative After Trump
Two years ago, Sebastian Stan starred as Donald Trump in “The Apprentice,” drawing reactions across the spectrum from fans — and earning himself a Best Actor Oscar nomination in the process.
Now, in his new movie “Fjord,” the actor is once again playing a conservative figure likely to draw criticism. But, according to the actor, he did not set out to play such divisive, conservative men back to back.
In the film, Stan plays Mihai Gheorghiu, a conservative Christian who’s relocated from Romania to an isolated Norwegian town with his wife (Renate Reinsve) and five children. The family is rigid in their beliefs and draws criticism from the town, especially when one of the kids has visible bruising, which Mihai owns up to being responsible for.
Stopping by TheWrap’s studio at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, Stan noted that there’s not one specific draw that’s pulled him toward playing controversial characters in the last few years. It’s just how schedules worked out.
“To be honest, the timing of these movies was very serendipitous in a way, and then I’m sometimes like, ‘Look, how did this all happen?’” he explained. “You know, I’ve been around trying to work with these guys, with these directors for so many years, and suddenly now is the time. I don’t know!”
“But I’m grateful as an actor to be part of these important things that are happening right now, you know, these timely issues in Trump’s America,” Stan continued. “We’re living in crazy times, and again, I still think yes, I have my responsibility as an actor. That’s what I chose to do. I didn’t become a firefighter … so I have to find my way of trying to communicate some things that I’m trying to figure out. Not to mention as a parent. So it’s just how it played out.”
Stan explained that he first became aware of director Cristian Mungiu and his work about a decade ago. Soon after, the two men began discussions to try and work together at some point. “Fjord” proved to be the right project to make it happen.
“The timing of this was great, because I was also in a place where I’d gotten a little bit older, and I was thinking about kids, and I was thinking about how, you know, my own relationship with my father, and my parents, and how I grew up,” Stan said.
The actor himself is from Romania, though he left at an early age, and says the “upbringing that came from there still followed me.”
Mungiu, meanwhile, has similar thoughts as to Stan when it comes to speaking about the state of the world through his art.
“I’m always taking a lot of time in between films to think about what else is important to speak about, to find a story that speaks about the state of the world in that given moment,” he said at TIFF. “I think that there’s a lot of content on the market. A lot of it is irrelevant. We produce tons of films and a lot of videos, and it’s a huge audiovisual noise. So I think I have the responsibility of thinking if I’m bringing one more film on top of this, it needs to be something that I consider to be relevant, if not important.”
For “Fjord” specifically, Mungiu saw an opportunity to tell a story about cultural and political clashes between people.
“You see this clash of values between this more conservative family coming from Eastern Europe and the very progressive Norway, but it’s not about Romania and Norway. This is also happening a lot in U.S. ,” he said. “For example, it shows how if you wish to impose your values on the others and you can’t convince them, you can forbid them to express what they think, but this is not helpful. Whenever they have the freedom to vote, you will be surprised. And the more you insist on imposing your point of view, the more you radicalize people.”
The filmmaker said he ultimately wanted to tell a story about the unwritten social contract that exists when a country welcomes immigrants, but expects them to assimilate to the majority’s norms.
“Apparently, every majority, even a very liberal and progressive one, behaves like a majority. They wish to impose their point of view on the minority, and your freedom is as much as you respect the local norms,” he continued. “And this is the most profound theme of the film about this: what integration means and how you can deal with people to whom you told for years and years and years after the globalization started, they are free to come and settle there. But they come and they settle without understanding that there is an implicit kind of social contract.”
“Fjord” now stands as the official entry for Romania at the 99th Academy Awards after winning the coveted Palme d’Or at Cannes. Neon will distribute the project in the U.S. later this year.
