The Apprentice is a 2024 biographical drama film, directed by Ali Abbasi and written by Gabriel Sherman. It stars Sebastian Stan as Donald Trump and examines his career as a real estate businessman in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s, highlighting his relationship with attorney Roy Cohn, played by Jeremy Strong. The cast also includes Martin Donovan as Trump's father Fred, and Maria Bakalova as Trump's first wife, Ivana.
An international co-production between Canada, Denmark, Ireland, and the United States, the biopic was announced in May 2018, but languished until Abbasi, Stan, and Strong joined in 2023. It premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival on May 20, 2024, and impressed critics, sparking an eight-minute standing ovation, and "feverish media attention". However, the film struggled to find American distribution due to its subject matter and an attempt by Trump's legal team to block its release. Briarcliff Entertainment eventually bought the rights, and theatrically released it on October 11, 2024. The film underperformed at the box office, grossing $17 million worldwide on a $16 million budget.
The film received praise from critics for its acting, directing, and editing; Trump himself, meanwhile, described it as a "defamatory, politically disgusting hatchet job" intended to harm his ultimately successful 2024 presidential campaign. For their performances, Stan and Strong each received wide acclaim and recognition, including respective nominations for Lead Actor and Supporting Actor at the 97th Academy Awards.
Plot
In 1973, the young Donald Trump, after pointing out various wealthy people to his date, meets Roy Cohn, notorious at the time as former chief counsel to Joseph McCarthy, at a New York City social club. Trump complains that the federal government is investigating his real-estate mogul father, Fred Trump, for discrimination against African-American tenants; Cohn offers to help.
After Cohn blackmails the lead prosecutor with photos of him with a cabana boy, the prosecutor settles the case for little, despite evidence of racial discrimination. Trump eventually descends further into Cohn's orbit, seeing him as a better mentor than his father. Cohn teaches Trump about dressing well and media relations, and offers his "three rules": always attack, never admit wrongdoing, and always claim victory, even if defeated. Trump attends a decadent Cohn party, where he walks in on Cohn (whose homosexuality is an open secret) having an orgy.
Trump wants to develop the derelict midtown Commodore Hotel, near Grand Central Terminal, into a Hyatt. Cohn, using blackmail audiotapes of officials, helps Trump obtain a $160 million tax abatement for the project, outraging advocates for the poor. Trump does not ask Fred, with whom he has a tense relationship, for permission to build.
Trump develops the luxurious Trump Tower, belittling Fred's smaller achievements, and the media begins to treat him as a successful mogul. Cohn criticizes unions and welfare queens, presenting himself as a guardian of the American spirit, while attacking rules, morals, and truth. Against Cohn's advice, Trump proceeds with some real estate developments, such as the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, causing losses. During the Reagan era, Trump says the United States needs to be stronger instead of disrespected by foreign nations. Trump and Roger Stone approve of one of Reagan's slogans, "Let's Make America Great Again".
Fred is ashamed of his eldest son, Fred Jr., for becoming an airline pilot with TWA, considering it akin to being "a bus driver with wings". Fred Jr. spirals into alcoholism, derailing his career, while the Trump family distances themselves from his self-destruction, and he eventually dies, devastating the family. His mother, Mary Anne, is agonized by this, and by Donald's attempts to manipulate his father's dementia to gain control of his siblings' inheritance to pay off mounting debts.
Trump meets Czech model Ivana Zelníčková, gets her admitted to his club after she is turned away, pays for her expenses, then pursues her to Aspen, Colorado, to ask her on a date. They eventually wed. She becomes an influential figure in the success of The Trump Organization. However, Trump grows resentful of Ivana overshadowing his fame and tells her he is no longer attracted to her (though not mentioning his various affairs). She complains of her breast enlargement he requested and calls him fat and bald, so he rapes her. Now addicted to amphetamines to help control his weight, Donald is discouraged from using them by his doctor, with whom he discusses his obesity and baldness. Trump has contentious relations with the new mayor, Ed Koch.
While facing disbarment, Cohn develops AIDS but publicly denies it. His lover Russell also develops AIDS, and Cohn asks Trump to put Russell up at the Hyatt. Trump eventually evicts Russell, claiming that guests complained, and refuses to approach Cohn, who berates Trump on the street, calling him an ungrateful fraud. After Russell dies, Trump takes Cohn to Mar-a-Lago in Florida and celebrates his birthday. He gives Cohn Trump-branded diamond cufflinks, but Ivana informs Cohn during dinner that the diamonds are zirconia knockoffs. When the cake arrives, Cohn weeps and excuses himself from the table.
Cohn dies in 1986. Trump undergoes liposuction and scalp-reduction surgeries. He meets with Tony Schwartz, the ghostwriter of his autobiography, The Art of the Deal, and appropriates Cohn's three rules as his own. Trump muses about becoming President of the United States, talks about the genetic superiority of winners, and expatiates his greatness while looking out toward an American flag waving against the backdrop of the New York skyline.
Cast
Production
Development The film was first announced in May 2018. Gabriel Sherman, who had covered Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as a journalist, was announced to be writing the screenplay. Sherman wanted to tell Trump's "origin story" after speaking about the relationship between Trump and Roy Cohn with "people who had worked for Trump since the '80s". During these conversations, Sherman learned about how Cohn had mentored Trump, who during his 2016 campaign, employed "strategies" that had been taught to him by Cohn. In that same year, Sherman finished writing a draft of the film. He and producer Amy Baer wanted to collaborate with a non-American director for the film since he wanted to combine his "insider" perspective with an "outsider point of view." After producer Guymon Casady recommended Sherman watch director Ali Abbasi's film Border (2018), he decided to collaborate with Abbasi for the project. By October 2023, Abbasi was confirmed to be joining the film as director and, as initially reported, co-writer.
In September 2024, after financier Kinematics, backed by Trump supporter Dan Snyder, exited The Apprentice due to creative differences, independent production and distribution company Rich Spirit, founded by James Shani, stepped in to fill the financial gap. Initially an early investor with a $500,000 contribution, Shani acquired Kinematics' stake and secured additional private investment to support the film's release. This acquisition occurred when other studios were hesitant to distribute the film, fearing potential retaliation from Donald Trump. Steven Cheung, Trump's then-chief campaign spokesperson said: "We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers," he added "This 'film' is pure malicious defamation, should not see the light of day".
Rich Spirit expanded into distribution through this acquisition, partnering with Briarcliff Entertainment for The Apprentice's domestic release on October 11, 2024. The company is focused on independent films, genre cinema, and international productions, with an emphasis on bold, original storytelling and grassroots marketing strategies. Shani, a USC alumnus, previously worked in music videos and commercial production before moving into film financing and distribution. In collaboration with Briarcliff CEO Tom Ortenberg, Shani launched an awards campaign for The Apprentice, targeting multiple Academy Award categories, including Best Director (Ali Abbasi) and acting nominations for Sebastian Stan and Jeremy Strong. Rich Spirit also planned an extended marketing strategy through 2025, featuring university screenings and community activations.
Writing However, it was later confirmed that Sherman would be the film's sole writer. According to Abbasi, producers had shared the script with multiple filmmakers, including Paul Thomas Anderson and Clint Eastwood, who had turned down the offer to direct, seeing the film as a "business risk".
In October 2024, Abbasi described the film as "a movie about a human being". He emphasized that it was not intended to be a film solely revolving around Donald Trump, but an exploration of the American political system. Abbasi compared Roy Cohn's mentorship of Donald Trump to that of Frankenstein (1818). Sherman also opined that the script functions as a standalone dramatic story of "a master teaching an apprentice, and the apprentice outstripping the master" and emphasized that although the film is based on "rigorous" research and real-world events, he ultimately wrote it as a "work of art." He specifically enumerated a scene in which Trump's mother read a newspaper article comparing him to Robert Redford as not being fictitious and based on a real article written by The New York Times. Strong characterized it as "a humanistic interrogation and investigation of these people. Ali is not making The Great Dictator — it's not a farce, it's not a cartoon. We're trying to hold a mirror up to this world and these individuals and try to understand how we got here".
The success of The Apprentice positioned Rich Spirit as an emerging boutique studio, aiming to acquire and distribute three to four films per year, prioritizing projects that resonate with younger and international audiences. The company has since engaged in discussions for future acquisitions, including a potential partnership on another Briarcliff release.
Casting In 2022, Sebastian Stan signed on to play Trump. To prepare for the role during pre-production, Stan listened to tapes of a younger Trump's voice as he did daily tasks, even practicing how his mouth moves, having a talent for imitating people since childhood. In addition to this, Stan thought about how he was told about the American Dream when, after moving from Romania to the United States, his mother took him to see New York City's skyscrapers. In anticipation of filming, Stan consumed peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and Coca-Colas to gain weight. When the film got temporarily suspended, he started bulking up in order to reprise his role as Bucky Barnes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Thunderbolts*, but had to frustratingly reverse course when that Marvel Studios production got suspended as well due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes. In November 2023, Stan, Strong and Bakalova were announced as the lead roles. In February 2024, it was announced that Martin Donovan had joined the cast portraying Fred Trump. The film is a joint production of Canada, Denmark, Ireland and the United States.
Filming