INTERVIEW: For the Romanian-born Hollywood star, the child welfare film Fjord became a personal journey back to his roots and to an upbringing where men were not supposed to show too much emotion . TBA met Sebastian Stan in Cannes.
CANNES, FRANCE: – I understand the self-consciousness that can come when you are an immigrant and trying to fit in without losing yourself.
Sebastian Stan is perhaps most associated with Hollywood and big roles, not least as James Buchanan “Bucky” Barnes aka the Winter Soldier in the Marvel universe.
When TBA meets him with a bunch of other journalists in Cannes, he is less interested in superheroes than in political topics.
The Hollywood actor, who is also linked to the upcoming Batman II film by Matt Reeves, is currently in Norwegian cinemas in Cristian Mungius’ critically acclaimed Palme d’Or winner Fjord .
In the film, which is set in Norway, he once again stars opposite Renate Reinsve, in the roles of a Romanian-Norwegian couple who experience the harassment of child welfare services.
But there is more to the film’s themes that Stan recognizes than one might think.
For Stan, the project is extra personal. He himself was born and raised in Romania.
When Romanian Palme d’Or winner Cristian Mungiu offered him a role in his new film, it felt right, Stan says. It wasn’t just because he had the opportunity to speak Romanian on film for the first time.
Mungiu is no stranger to films with controversial and taboo themes, and Fjord is no exception.
The film is based on true events, not least the controversial Naustdal case , when a Norwegian-Romanian couple were deprived of their five children by child welfare after it emerged that the children were physically punished.
– It’s a really complex story and I really like that, says Stan.
– It’s quite wild – or rather quite complicated, I think. It’s difficult to have a clear opinion on the matter. On the one hand, it’s very understandable that we need child welfare, as children so often live in terrible conditions with no one to protect them. At the same time – in a world where marriages are becoming increasingly rare and families are breaking up – one understands the value of a safe framework for children to grow up in, a home, he says.
– When I read the script, I was unsure of what to think, and I became curious to better understand exactly what the right thing to do here is. Who should ultimately have the care of these children? The answer depends on the individual case, but this particular situation was extra complicated because it involves different cultures, customs, religions and belief systems.
The actor believes the film highlights the great differences that sometimes exist between different countries.
– And when these things collide, you wonder deep down whether the intention itself is still about the best interests of the children, or whether there are other things behind it?
He believes Fjord is as relevant as it is because there is a lot of hostility towards immigration in both Europe and the United States.
– I hope the film can strike a nerve in the United States, considering how quick we are to judge “the others” – no matter what it may be, whether it concerns politics, religion or whatever, he says.
– Extremism is very harmful and to me it is obvious that being extreme does not work. Yet it seems to be exactly the way people react to things, regardless of which side they are on. I wonder if people see that connection themselves.
Sebastian Stan in The Apprentice. Photo: Pief Weyman / Nordisk Film Distribution
– I just wanted to be American
Stan himself left Romania as a child and has experienced the feeling of having to try to find his place in new cultures.
When he was nine years old, he started attending a German public school in Vienna.
– I hardly spoke German. Nobody spoke to me. My mother was very protective and said I shouldn’t tell anyone where I came from.
When he later moved to the United States at the age of 12, it took 3-4 years before he really felt like everyone else, he says.
“I was even afraid to invite classmates to my house because I didn’t know if they would like the food we ate. Romanian food is so heavy and hearty,” he says.
– My experience is a trifle compared to what the film captures, but I understood that feeling there.
It is now that he is talking about this self-awareness that arises when an immigrant tries to fit in in a new place, without losing himself.
– For many years, I just wanted to be American and fit in. But as I got older, I realized that it was important for me to know where I came from. Besides, I still spoke the language. As I have become more confident in who I was and am, I have wanted to understand the world I come from.
Sebastian Stan in Thunderbolts. Photo: Marvel Studios. © 2024 MARVEL.
– You have to be strong.
To find his character, the Romanian family man Mihai, he drew inspiration, among other things, from the men he was surrounded by as a child.
– I had Romanian men in my life growing up, like my grandfather, my father, and my parents’ circle of friends, so I probably understood a little of this more reserved way of being.
– It’s a culture where you’re not always encouraged to show emotion or weakness. You’re supposed to be strong, stick to your values, and just keep going. I don’t know if that’s necessarily a good thing, to be completely honest .
It’s a theme Stan has also explored in several of his recent roles. The cold, emotionally absent Donald Trump in Ali Abbasi’s sharp satire bears some similarities to the Romanian father fighting for the right to support his children.
– There is a larger discussion about the consequences for men of not expressing emotions. We don’t always learn to put into words how we feel.
– Do you think it’s a coincidence that your previous role – and perhaps your next one – also explores themes like power and masculinity, or more specifically paternalism? Is this something you’re particularly interested in exploring?
– Well, I’ve thought about it a lot, because I’m trying to figure out how to be a man in today’s world, he says.
– It’s something I keep thinking about, but I don’t always feel like it’s random, like how work finds you. Sometimes it finds you if it’s the right match; sometimes it finds you because there’s something there that you need to explore – not just for yourself, but for other reasons as well. So maybe… well, there might be something to it, I don’t really know.
– Do you feel like you get to explore your emotions enough in the different roles – for example in The Apprentice or here? If the character, for example, wants to cry – is there room for that?
– I think what I like most about being an actor is that you kind of learn more about things, and you get to know yourself a little better – what it means to be a human being, which I think is very difficult. I don’t really know… we have our patterns, don’t we? We’re told that we should be a certain way. You’re confident in one thing and unsure about another, but you don’t always get the opportunity in life to put things into words or actually experience them, he says.
– You bottle up all your feelings, and eventually you get sick and die – die from stress that you… well, I don’t know. I wish we encouraged things like that.
– In Europe, you actually support artistic and creative projects, because you see that it is important for people – especially children and young people. In the US, you are not encouraged to do the same, and that is probably unfortunate.
Stan has had a huge variety of films and roles in recent years – from major Hollywood productions, to the more profound, introspective roles in far more artistically ambitious films, with significantly lower budgets.
The year before last, he delivered perhaps two of his strongest roles to date in his career with the aforementioned The Apprentice , for which he received an Oscar nomination, while also playing a rather special role in A Different Man , the same year he also starred in the Marvel blockbuster Thunderbolts .
He says that he would like to continue with both, and also points out that the larger blockbuster films also have their function in the diverse film universe, which is perhaps easy to underestimate.
– Sometimes I just want to watch a “good” movie. I don’t need to watch dark, brooding films from The Criterion Collection all the time. The point is that there are some situations where creativity doesn’t always have to be a high priority.
At the same time, he greatly appreciates the freedom in the type of auteur films like the one he is currently working on.
– In these films, you often try to ask a specific question or explore something that is difficult. And that’s interesting, because it also helps you as an actor.
More film adventures are coming soon, including a Romanian Frankenstein production, a spy film about Pinochet’s escape plan in England, and Avengers: Doomsday , while we wait to see him in the role of Harvey Dent/Two Face in The Batman: Part II , which has been postponed until 2028. He won’t say much about it.
But what if he has to choose between superheroes and European cinema?
He doesn’t have to hesitate to answer the question:
– As long as someone wants me, I’ll be there.
Fjord is in Norwegian cinemas.