‘The man in orange’: Sebastian Stan opens up about which of his two Golden Globe nominated roles was the hardest

Last night saw Sebastian Stan’s first Golden Globe win, and say it with me: It’s about damn time!

While he won for A Different Man, where he was nominated in Best Male Actor, Comedy or Musical, he was also nominated in Best Actor, Feature Drama for his role as Donald Trump in The Apprentice. The films could not be more different, and the range Stan had in playing them both is impressive. After, in the press room, Stan was asked what the hardest role was to play in his career. His answer to that? “The man in orange.”

There has been no surprise that The Apprentice has faced its share of backlash and controversy. Despite being a top awards contender, Stan was shut out of this season’s Actors on Actors lineup, stating that no one was willing to talk to him. “The responsibility I carried, it was about The Apprentice, wanting to do the best I can to honor Ali Abbasi’s vision,” he said. He also called it “a big risk,” which has unfortunately proven to be true. Stan is the type of actor that can disappear into his roles, and it is incredibly frustrating that we are still in the type of political climate where that can affect the reception of this kind of role.

He has been open about the backlash for The Apprentice since its premiere, and he used his Globes acceptance speech to briefly talk about it (and A Different Man), saying “We can’t be afraid and look away.”

We can’t censor art, especially like this

We need these controversial stories to be told. The moment we start censoring films like this, we are doomed as a democracy. If anything, one of the common critiques of The Apprentice has been that it is almost too forgiving to Trump, so it proves that Trump himself is just exceptionally thin-skinned.

Stan is right to call out Hollywood in this way. A role as a (then former) President should not be risky. Any other biopic about our lengthy list of less-than-savory Presidents would be heralded and, if not met with critical acclaim, at least left to quietly deflate in the background. Embellished or not. If anything, the range displayed between these two films should be the main talking point of any interviews this awards season. Not the weight it took to take on this character, but the weight taken away from playing somebody like Trump. Those are the questions that should be the first thought to be asked. However, at least The Apprentice has kept Stan as a talking point. It has been a long overdue dose of spotlight for him, and whatever happens the rest of the season, we know he will continue to call out disparities any chance he can.