Trump Biopic The Apprentice: Release date, Trailer, Controversy, cast, & Everything we know so far

Former US President Donald Trump's controversial biopic The Apprentice is finally getting a theatrical release only days before the highly anticipated 2024 United States presidential election. We have all the latest updates, so keep reading to learn more.

The film is deemed provocative and contentious because it often portrays Trump in an unflattering light, including depicting him sexually assaulting his wife, getting liposuction, and not helping his alcoholic brother. Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said that the movie was "pure malicious defamation." He added, "We will be filing a lawsuit to address the blatantly false assertions from these pretend filmmakers. This garbage is pure fiction which sensationalizes lies that have been long debunked."

In an interview at Cannes, director Ali Abbasi said, "I don’t necessarily think that this is a movie he would dislike. I don’t necessarily think he would like it. I think he would be surprised, you know?"

Here's everything we know about the Trump biopic The Apprentice, including the release date, plot, cast, and more.

Release date & Where to Watch

The Apprentice premieres on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in US theaters, just days before the Nov. 5 United States elections. The film previously premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 20.

Soooo excited to show the movie to its home audience!!! America here we come. #The_Appretince

— Ali Abbasi (@_aliabbasi_) August 30, 2024

Plot

The Apprentice portrays the early years of Trump's business career and focuses on his relationship with Roy Cohn, a New York City prosecutor who was known for his collaboration with Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Second Red Scare.

The movie also shows Trump in a very negative way, portraying him as a sleazy, mean person who is focused on moving up in society and who ignores his alcoholic brother. The movie also shows him getting liposuction and cosmetic surgery to deal with his hair loss.

In the later parts of the film, there is a dramatization of Trump raping his former wife, Ivana Trump. In her 1990 divorce deposition, Ivana said that Trump raped her. While Trump rejected the accusations, Ivana later said she didn’t mean it literally but that she had felt violated. Ivana passed away in 2022.

Cast

• Sebastian Stan (The Falcon and the Winter Soldier) as Donald Trump

Talking at a press conference at Cannes about how he prepared to play Trump, Stan said that it was a "24/7 immersion process" to understand his personality. The actor said, "He is a human being like everybody else so I guess we all have certain codes and certain principles, it just depends on what they are. I guess it’s relative to everybody."

• Jeremy Strong (Succession) as Roy Cohn
• Maria Bakalova (Borat 2) as Ivana Trump
• Martin Donovan as Fred Trump
• Ben Sullivan as Russell Eldridge
• Charlie Carrick as Fred Trump Jr.
• Mark Rendall as Daniel Sullivan
• Joe Pingue as Anthony Salerno

Trailer

Behind the Scenes

The Apprentice is directed by Iranian Danish filmmaker Ali Abbasi and written by Vanity Fair journalist Gabriel Sherman. It will be distributed by Briarcliff Entertainment in the US, which also distributed the 2018 documentary Fahrenheit 11/9, which chronicled the initial two years of Trump's presidency.

It is produced by Daniel Bekerman for Scythia Films, Jacob Jarek for Profile Pictures, Ruth Treacy & Julianne Forde for Tailored Films, Louis Tisne, and Abbasi. Bekerman said, "Despite the integrity of the film and without even seeing it, Trump’s campaign sought to suppress it. 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."

Executive producers include Amy Baer, Gabriel Sherman, 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. Baer said, "The Apprentice is first and foremost humanist, which makes it radically different from all the political noise."