Cannes Film Festival: Sebastian Stan ‘rebonds’ with his Romanian past in family drama Fjord

CANNES, France — For Romanian-born US actor Sebastian Stan, the Cannes Film Festival drama Fjord, centered around the clash of values that ensues when a religious family relocates from Romania to a Norwegian village, has allowed him to reconnect with his roots.

“I left in a very chaotic way, and I’ve really tried to educate myself about the country,” Mr. Stan told journalists on Tuesday, a day after the premiere of the film that he said had provided the chance “to rebond” with the country of his birth.

Mr. Stan left Romania with his mother when he was about eight years old and the vast majority of the country’s population was suffering economic hardship and political repression under communist leader Nicolae Ceausescu.

Romanian director Cristian Mungiu, who won the festival’s top prize in 2007 with 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, said that he had started writing the script, inspired by true stories, only after Mr. Stan had agreed to take on one of the leading roles.

Mr. Stan, who made his name in the Captain America trilogy, stars as a Romanian IT technician who decides to move his family of seven to the Norwegian village where his wife, played by Sentimental Value standout Renate Reinsve, was born.

Cultural differences on child-rearing take an extreme turn when child protection services become involved, and the divisions reflect a bigger battle between conservative and progressive values.

A ‘DIFFICULT AND HUMBLING’ ROLE
Ms. Reinsve, who previously co-starred with Mr. Stan in 2024’s A Different Man, recalled that it was difficult and humbling to play a role so different from her own life.

“It was very scary to go into playing someone who was doing something wrong and was violent without knowing it,” said the Norwegian actor.

Fjord is one of 22 films competing for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d’Or, which will be handed out on May 23.

During the press conference, Mr. Stan was also asked how his understanding of US President Donald J. Trump had changed since he starred as the real estate mogul in the biopic The Apprentice. The film was in competition at Cannes in 2024, when Mr. Trump had begun campaigning for the second term he began in 2025.

In response, Mr. Stan recalled that the film had faced the same threats as late show hosts Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert have experienced in Mr. Trump’s second presidential term.

“We’re in a really, really bad place,” he added. — Reuters