Sebastian Stan’s Secret for Gaining Weight to Play Trump: Drinking ‘A Lot of Coca-Cola,’ the ‘Apprentice’ Actor Says

October 13, 2024 @ 4:12 PM

Sebastian Stan was tasked with gaining 15 pounds when he took on the role of Donald Trump in “The Apprentice” — a feat he managed with the help of Coca-Cola. “I actually started drinking a lot of Coca-Cola. Tell you, if you drink four Coca-Colas a day, a lot of things happen to your body. Don’t do it,” he told “Entertainment Tonight.”

“I think it is important that we try and understand this person beyond just, you know, the red tie and the flare and the mannerisms and everything, and just try to get underneath it,” Stan added.

Stan’s weight gain method of choice was somewhat appropriate, given Trump’s own love of soda. Of course, Trump doesn’t go for the sugary version — he shared in 2017 that he drinks 12 Diet Cokes a day.

“The Apprentice” is set in 1970s and ’80s New York, a time during which a young Trump hoped to strike out on his own and converted the Commodore Hotel, purchasing it with Hyatt and renovating it into the Grand Hyatt Central New York.

In addition to Marvel Cinematic Universe alum Stan, the movie stars Jeremy Strong as Roy Cohn, Maria Bakalova as Trump’s first wife Ivana, Charlie Carrick as Trump’s older brother Fred Trump Jr., Mark Rendall as Roger Stone and Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr.

The movie premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but struggled to secure distribution in the United States as it faced controversy over its content. In September, the film’s producers launched a Kickstarter campaign to support the release of the movie into theaters.

“‘The Apprentice’ is first and foremost humanist, which makes it radically different from all the political noise,” executive producer Amy Baer said in a statement.

“Despite the integrity of the film and without even seeing it, Trump’s campaign sought to suppress it,” producer Dan Bekerman added. “The idea that artists can no longer freely criticize the powerful should concern us all. We need your help to resoundingly reject this dangerous precedent.”

The campaign ultimately raised over $400,000 — more than $300,000 over its intended goal.

“The Apprentice” was produced by Bekerman for Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures, Ruth Treacy and Julianne Forde for Tailored Films, Louis Tisne and Ali Abbasi. Executive producers include Baer and Sherman in addition to Fred Benenson, Compton Ross, Thorsten Schumacher, Levi Woodward, Niamh Fagan, Greg Denny, James Shani, Noor Alfallah, Andy Cohen, Andrew Frank, Neil Mathieson, Lee Broda, Blair Ward, Brian Tyler Cohen and Anders Erden.