To say Sebastian Stan is unrecognizable in his new critically-acclaimed drama, Fjord—which opens in U.S. theaters October 9, and screened at New York Film Festival last week—is an understatement. It’s not just he shaved his thick hair to mimic male pattern baldness, though that certainly does help. It’s that his character, Mihai, is a staunchly conservative Christian who believe marriage ought to be between a man and a woman.

“I’m drawn toward subject matters that I feel I don’t personally understand, right away,” Stan—who has publicly supported gay rights, criticized Donald Trump, and earned an Oscar nomination for playing a young Trump in the 2024 controversial biopic, The Apprentice—told Decider in a recent Zoom interview.

The subject matter of Fjord, written and directed by award-winning Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, was inspired by the true story of a Romanian family living in Norway, whose four children and infant baby were taken away by the country’s child protection services, after the parents admitted to spanking their children. Stan stars as Mihai Gheorghiu (whose name was changed from the real Marius Bodnariu), a religious Romanian man who moves his family to Norway, where his wife, Lisbet (Renate Reinsve, reuniting with Stan following 2024’s A Different Man), is from.

Stan, who is 44, just welcomed his first child with wife Annabelle Wallis in July. He told Decider that he related to the difficult questions Fjord raised about parenting. “I look back at the things I took from my parents, wondering which have been very helpful, and [which] I’m still working to get rid of or get through.”

The Romanian-American actor spoke to Decider about playing a Romanian character and what draws him to characters so ideologically different from him.

DECIDER: Most of your dialogue in the film is in English, but some is in Romanian. How often do you speak Romanian? What did it mean to play a Romanian character being from there? 

SEBASTIAN STAN: I do speak Romanian. I’m fluent. I speak with my mom all the time, and I have some friends that are still there. It was very meaningful for me to be able to do this movie, because I’ve been meaning to work in Romania, in some capacity, to reconnect myself to this past that I have. The movie really afforded me to do that.

Has your family seen the film? 

Yes, my mom saw the movie on Sunday night here at the New York Film Festival. I think she was proud and very happy. Particularly for her generation—and my generation too—I think she understood that way of how we grew up, you know? Which was featured in the movie. 

I noticed you’ve kept the shaved head. Did hair and makeup have to shave your head every day to keep it so smooth?

Yeah!

What was it like seeing yourself like that, living in that hairstyle? 

We went through stages of cutting it off. I was so surprised that we were able to do it as simply as just shaving it. As long as it makes sense—it’s earned and it is for a good reason—I’m always happy to change anything, to adapt to a character look-wise, or whatever is necessary. Here, this was a decision that Cristian [Mungiu] had. I ended up getting some teeth. We decided on these glasses. It’s helpful when you don’t always recognize yourself. There’s something liberating for me that happens. 

Mihai is a complicated man, with some political beliefs I know you don’t personally share. In 2024, you played a young Trump. Is there something that is drawing you to roles that are so ideologically different from you?

I think I’m drawn toward subject matters that I feel I don’t personally understand, right away. Characters I don’t understand, that feel complicated, or that feel like [they] need to be understood, in order to be processed better. I’m also drawn to filmmakers that I think are fearless and are willing to ask difficult questions that feel timely. Similar to The Apprentice, I felt like this movie was complex in the sense that it’s just simply, to me, at least, asking, “How do we bring up kids in today’s world? What does it mean to be a parent? And where does culture, tradition and history still serve us, or ultimately, get in the way of us being better family members?” It just resonated with me. 

I know you’re a recent father yourself, congratulations. Did that influence your relationship to the character, to the movie, at all? 

Absolutely, yeah. Of course I was thinking about it. I’m at an age now where I was contemplating kids for a long time. I’m in my 40s. I look back at how I grew up—looking at the things I took from my parents and wondering which have been very helpful, and [which] I’m still working to sort of get rid of or get through. When you have kids, you’re put in this situation where, if you’re aware enough, you have to ask yourself, “OK, what’s best for them? How can I put my ego aside?”

It has to be more than just “I want my kid to be this way, or do this.” You have to see what you’re dealing with. They’re their own people, and they’re not always asking for everything that we’re dumping on them, so to speak. I felt like it was really interesting, but I also think it’s an evolving situation. There’s something about [the movie] that you can’t solidify and just say, “Well it’s only this way, not that way.” For me, with this movie, trying to at least see how some of the ways [of parenting] that work, or don’t work, are highlighted felt essential. 

I have to ask: What can fans expect for Bucky in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday film? Will we be seeing a lot of him? Did you get a chance to reunite with Chris Evans? 

I got a chance to reunite with everyone. It was very nostalgic to look back, and think about all of these years that we’ve known each other and grew up together. It’s incredible, in that way. It’s been a family, and it never stops being that way. I haven’t seen the movie. I don’t know how it turned out. I’m sure it’s going to be probably heartbreaking in a lot of ways. We’ll see who makes it to the next level.