Actor Sebastian Stan addressed criticism surrounding his latest film, Fjord, during an appearance on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. Sitting down with guest host Michael Kosta on Wednesday night, Stan defended the movie’s exploration of traditional and religious themes amid a contentious child custody narrative.
Fjord follows a Romanian-Norwegian Christian couple, played by Stan and Renate Reinsve, who relocate to a rural Norwegian village. The family becomes entangled with local welfare authorities who suspect the parents of abuse due to their traditional child-rearing practices. The storyline is loosely inspired by the real-life 2015 case of Ruth and Marius Bodnariu, a Romanian-Norwegian family whose children were temporarily removed by authorities.
During the interview, Kosta questioned whether audiences might interpret the film’s themes as fundamentally conservative. Stan acknowledged the assessment while pushing back against the idea that labeling a project in such terms diminishes its core emotional and social questions.
"I think that’s a pretty fair assessment, but that should not necessarily cancel out the issues that this family is facing or the feelings that they have and the desire that they have to raise the kids in the best way they can," Stan said on the program. "There’s probably always, on either side, needs to be an opening of the door for a sort of more of a back-and-forth to happen. When did conservative become so wrong?"
Addressing Criticisms and Cultural Polarization
The film, which secured the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, has sparked widespread public debate regarding its narrative framing. Critics have accused the project of leaning into right-wing political ideologies, a characterization that Stan has repeatedly dismissed in press rounds.
Speaking with USA Today ahead of his late-night appearance, Stan explained that reducing the movie to a political talking point misses its broader human message about immigration and institutional overreach. He drew parallels between the movie’s setting and global immigration struggles, noting that the narrative centers fundamentally on the painful separation of an immigrant family rather than partisan talking points.
- Starring Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve as an immigrant Christian couple.
- Loosely inspired by the 2015 Bodnariu child custody case in Norway.
- Winner of the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
- Explores themes of state intervention, cultural clashes, and family preservation.
Connecting Personal Background to On-Screen Themes
Stan also related the themes of Fjord to his own background, noting his experience as a Romanian immigrant who left the country at age eight. As a new father, he reflected on the universal fears of losing a child and navigating cultural assimilation in unfamiliar surroundings.
"As long as there is curiosity at least instead of immediate judgment, maybe there is something else there, but if a family is trying to stay together, we should at least give them the benefit of the doubt, and maybe they are trying to do it for the right reasons," Stan told Kosta.
The conversation on The Daily Show marks another high-profile promotional stop for Stan, who has alternated between major blockbuster franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and complex, politically charged independent dramas, including his portrayal of a young Donald Trump in the 2024 biographical film The Apprentice.
