Sebastian Stan knows ‘Fjord’ is ‘divisive.’ He wants to talk about it.

Sebastian Stan knows 'Fjord' is 'divisive.' He wants to talk regarding it.

Key points

• Born in Romania, Stan and his mother moved to Austria when he was 8 after the Romanian Revolution.
• The Golden Globe winner admittedly has "plenty of" fears concerning raising a kid in 2026.
• Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve star as a couple living in Norway who have their children taken away from them in the legal thriller "Fjord."
• Toronto Film Festival: Oscar hopeful 'Fjord' puts fiery clash of values on display.
• "They're not understanding the nuances, " notes Stan, 44, on a recent visit to USA TODAY's studio.

Sebastian Stan knows 'Fjord' is 'divisive.' He wants to talk regarding it. Sebastian Stan has seen your "knee-jerk reactions" to his new movie "Fjord, " regarding a conservative family under fire. The response is "unfortunately predictable, " he notes. Patrick Ryan USA TODAY. 'Fjord' trailer – Sebastian Stan, Renate Reinsve star in legal drama.

NEW YORK – Sebastian Stan knows his latest movie is bound to strike a nerve. He likes it that way.

"I'm proud when I'm a part of something that speaks to a timely issue, " notes "The Apprentice" star, who is after up his Oscar-nominated role as a young Donald Trump with an equally provocative new drama.

Loosely inspired by a true story, "Fjord" (in select theaters Oct. 9, expanding nationwide Oct. 23) follows a devoutly Christian family led by stern Romanian patriarch Mihai (Stan) and his Norwegian wife, Lisbet (Renate Reinsve). This person works in a nursing home.

When the children's teachers discover bruises on their bodies and the kids confess there's occasional physical discipline at home, when they relocate to Lisbet's hometown, the conservative clan instantly raises eyebrows among their progressive new neighbors – specifically. They are shortly taken away by child protective services, sparking a prolonged legal battle.

"Fjord" grapples with cultural clashes and individual freedom, asking at what point it is our responsibility to police others' values and behavior. The Oscar hopeful won Cannes Film Festival's top prize, the Palme d'Or, in May. But it has additionally sparked debate among critics and social media users, some of whom believe that it props up right-wing ideology with the film's depiction of protesters rushing to Mihai and Lisbet's defense, claiming religious persecution.

"They're not understanding the nuances, " notes Stan, 44, on a recent visit to USA TODAY's studio. "I find it almost laughable to label it a 'MAGA film' when it's essentially regarding an immigrant family going to a different country and being torn apart. We could change Norway for the United States, and Romania for Mexico, or any number of places where that's happening."

Despite "these knee-jerk reactions, " it's a film "that has to be processed and downloaded, " Stan adds. "In America, it's going right to the heart of this divisive matter that we're at present having, and the reason individuals are writing it off or feel it's a propaganda piece is as we've normalized finger-pointing. This judgmental, dismissive attitude that plays out online is quite dangerous and naïve – but it's unfortunately predictable in today's time."

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As a Romanian immigrant, 'Fjord' felt like 'a coming home' for Sebastian Stan.

Born in Romania, Stan and his mother moved to Austria when he was 8 after the Romanian Revolution. They eventually settled in upstate New York when he was 12.

Although his family wasn't particularly religious, "I still had exposure to emotionally guarded, stoic, Eastern European male figures, " he recalls. As an immigrant, he understood what it means to "feel different, have an accent, try to make new friends, and have that self-awareness that inevitably ends up carrying a slight degree of shame with it."

After working in the U.S. For roughly two decades, "Fjord" felt like "a bit of a coming-home party for me, " Stan notes. It's written and directed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, and it's the actor's first movie in which he gets to substantially speak his native language.

"I felt very embraced by the Romanian crew, " he recalls. "I hung out with them every night; we spoke Romanian every day. Since I left so early, I felt like I'd been playing catch-up for a highly long time. I definitely feel like I've arrived back to some old place that I left."

In making "Fjord, " Stan was particularly intrigued by the prospect of going to "morally ambiguous" places. While prepping for the project, he had extensive conversations with Mungiu and Reinsve regarding the characters' respective childhoods. They additionally visited churches and spoke to parents who have been embroiled in similar legal cases.

This movie deals a lot with history and tradition, and whether it still has value in today's world. And if so, what still works and what doesn't? Stan notes. In terms of my own upbringing culturally, there was a sense of: Stick to your own lane, stay suspicious and stay guarded. Additionally, if you secured in trouble, you really obtained in trouble – and maybe that did involve spanking or a slap here and there.

"I was a very accident-prone kid and I scared my mom, " he adds. "I could see she had the right intentions to protect me."

Sebastian Stan notes the movie is 'highly relevant for me' as a new dad.

Stan and his partner, actress Annabelle Wallis, welcomed their first child in July. Consequently, "this idea of what we are passing onto our kids is very relevant for me at this time in my life, " he notes. "It's a movie regarding: How do you raise kids in today's world? I've been thinking a lot regarding the things I learned that I'm inevitably passing down."

For context, the Golden Globe winner admittedly has "plenty of" fears concerning raising a kid in 2026.

All you have to do is just look at the news, and how we're treating our planet and ourselves, Stan notes. But on a personal level, you always have to look at what you have control over. As a parent, I have the best intentions for my kid, it doesn't necessarily mean that I am somehow free of fault or making a mistake, even though. It's particularly straightforward to impose your own perspective, and not see your child for who she or he or they may naturally exist to be.

"Suppression is a major issue, " he adds. "Any time something is suppressed or denied, it grows another head in some capacity."

Since 2011, Stan has been in almost a dozen Marvel projects as Bucky Barnes, aka the Winter Soldier, and he will appear in an undisclosed role in Matt Reeves' upcoming "The Batman: Part II." But he has additionally stretched himself in audacious independent fare including "A Different Man, " "Fresh" and "I, Tonya."

"I like Sebastian when he has to play something very different to what he does in the Marvel movies, " notes Mungiu, praising the mix of menace and warmth that Stan brings to Mihai. "He is very versatile and capable of expressing a lot by doing very little."

Stan fell in love with acting in high school, and "I never thought I was going to end up in this one role that I was going to be defined by, " he notes. "I'm always indebted to Marvel since it opened these doors, but I feel like I'm getting to do now what I always wanted to do when I was younger. We're all so overexposed now that it's straightforward to secure comfortable – and I worry regarding getting too comfortable." SMS Facebook Twitter Email. Share your feedback to support improve our site!

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In short, sebastian Stan knows Fjord is divisive. He wants to talk about it is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.