Sebastian Stan recently opened up about his near-auditions for two iconic franchises—Star Trek and Green Lantern—that slipped through his fingers. While captivating audiences as Donald Trump in The Apprentice, Stan fondly recalled the roles he “desperately wanted.”
In an interview with Deadline, he revealed he was close to scoring the role of Captain James T. Kirk in JJ Abrams’ 2009 reboot. Stan prepared diligently, even participating in a photoshoot to echo classic Kirk imagery. However, the role ultimately went to Chris Pine.
Stan also auditioned for the lead in Green Lantern, which went to Ryan Reynolds. Reflecting on the experience, he humorously noted, “I remember getting there, and it was like me, Justin Timberlake, Jared Leto, Ryan Reynolds…and I’m looking at these guys going, ‘I’m f–ed!’”
Despite the disappointment, Stan expressed a sense of relief at not landing those high-profile roles. “Looking back, I’m almost glad it didn’t happen,” he said. “I don’t know if I could have handled that level of attention like some of those guys.”
Stan’s journey has since soared, moving from early roles in Gossip Girl and Once Upon a Time to critically acclaimed performances in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, I, Tonya, and the Hulu series Pam & Tommy, which earned him his first Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
Currently, he stars in The Apprentice, alongside Maria Bakalova as Ivana Trump and Martin Donovan as Fred Trump Sr. Directed by Ali Abbasi, the film delves into Trump’s political rise and his controversial alliance with lawyer Roy Cohn, portrayed by Jeremy Strong.