Actor Sebastian Stan defended the "conservative" reading of his latest film, "Fjord," while promoting the movie on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show" Wednesday night.
"Fjord" follows a Romanian Norwegian Christian couple, played by Stan and actress Renate Reinsve, moving to a Norwegian village only to be suspected of abusing their children by what's seen as a progressive nation. The two must then fight to win back custody of their kids from a society suspicious of their traditional methods.
Host Michael Kosta remarked that the film could be seen as "fairly conservative" based on its themes of a religious family pushing back against a progressive European country. Stan agreed with the description but said that deeming it "conservative" does not negate the issues covered in the film.
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"Some people might characterize the themes of this movie as fairly conservative. What's your response to that? Are people overthinking it?" Kosta asked.
"I think that's a pretty fair assessment, but that should not necessarily cancel out the issues that, you know, this family is facing or that the feelings that they have and the desire that they have to, you know, raise the kids in the best way they can," Stan said. "I think there's probably always, right, on either side there needs to be an opening of the door, you know, for a sort of more of a back and forth to happen …. I mean, this is one thing. Like, when did conservative become so wrong?"
The Marvel actor added that he did not grow up in a religious home like the family in his film but urged audiences to consider the perspectives of people like the characters he portrays.
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"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 said.
Stan also pushed back on critics who accused the film of promoting a "right-wing ideology" during an interview with USA Today published Thursday.
"They’re not understanding the nuances," Stan told USA Today . "I find it almost laughable to label it a ‘MAGA film’ when it's essentially about 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."
"In America, it’s going right to the heart of this divisive issue that we’re currently having, and the reason people are writing it off or feel it’s a propaganda piece is because we’ve normalized finger-pointing," he continued. "This judgmental, dismissive attitude that plays out online is quite dangerous and naive – but it’s unfortunately predictable in today’s time."
Fox News Digital reached out to Stan's representatives for comment.
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The film is loosely based on a real 2015 case where Norwegian residents Ruth and Marius Bodnariu had their five children, including one infant, removed from their custody upon the suspicion of abuse as well as their religious background. The family was separated for seven months until they were finally reunited following several court cases in Norway.
Though most known for his role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Stan also portrayed a younger version of President Donald Trump in the 2024 film "The Apprentice."
Though Stan has been critical of the president and his actions, he previously defended his choice to portray Trump despite being warned against taking the project.
"There's also a valid argument to be made in terms of, 'Well, I know what happened. I know what kind of guy he is. I see him all the time,'" Stan told Entertainment Weekly in 2024 . "Still, I think there is value in normalizing people that we feel strongly about. And people feel very strongly about him in two different extremes: He's either God's son or he's Lucifer incarnate, and I think we need to bring him back down to earth."
In a comment to Fox News Digital, NewsBusters managing editor Curtis Houck called Stan's comments "ironic" given his work on "The Apprentice."
"It's richly ironic Sebastian Stan would say this after playing a young Donald Trump in an anti-Trump film that the liberal, elitist Hollywood press loved. It must not be so fun for Sebastian now that he's made a movie that isn't as interesting to these same cinephiles," Houck said.