How does one build an American monument?
That was the question that Maria Bakalova asked herself upon taking the role of Ivana Trump in The Apprentice, the hotly debated and contested film about the rise of Donald Trump in 1970s New York. One may be confused by the question. After all, Ivana Trump was born in the Czech Republic and was long divorced from Trump when he became the 45th President of the United States. And yet, Ivana is a central figure in the Trump mythology. One could argue that she represented the purported promise of the American Dream: making a name for oneself, regardless of station or circumstance. Another might say she represented the worst of America’s tabloid excesses alongside her bloviating ex-husband. One of Bakalova’s goals in portraying Ivana was to strip away the presumptions and misconceptions and get to the truth of the businesswoman.
“In the beginning, when I didn’t know about her, my prejudices against her were quite a lot,” Bakalova explained in an interview with Geek Vibes Nation. “I thought she was this beautiful, glamorous model who just wanted to find a wealthy, ambitious American man who would provide for her family. Then I got a sense that she wanted to be seen for her brain, not for her looks. A lot of people underestimate women, especially models, just because they look a certain way. [Ivana] always had a bigger ambition. She always wanted to achieve something bigger for herself.”
According to Bakalova, Ivana wanted to be the Statue of Liberty to Donald Trump’s Empire State Building. They essentially achieved that as fixtures of 1980s New York society, a mainstay on the pages of the New York Post. Their work lives were similarly intertwined, as seen in the film. Ivana was vice president of interior design at the Trump Organization, leading the renovation of the Grand Hyatt Hotel and contributing to the design of Trump Tower. She also served as manager of the Plaza Hotel.
“I feel like, a lot of times, we find ourselves attracted to people that remind us of us, to a certain degree,” Bakalova explained Donald and Ivana’s relationship. “In their case, they were equally ambitious. In the beginning, this worked in their favor.”
While Ivana and Donald’s mutual level of ambition was the spark of their relationship, their 13-year marriage fell apart when Donald had an affair with his future second wife, Marla Maples. “[Their ambition] became the reason why they separated because [often] men don’t want to share the spotlight. He is the center of attention because she managed to build this power couple with him a few steps in front of her, to the point he started to believe in his own press, and she got his shadow.”
Bakalova worked closely with Sebastian Stan, who was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Independent Spirit Award for his performance, to get the power couple’s dynamic right. They started speaking and researching their roles early in development, with Bakalova consuming multiple books and documentaries, not just about the Trumps but also Roy Cohn (played in the film by Jeremy Strong). She approached the movie as a “coming of age story,” with Ivana and Cohn serving as powerful figures that “made him see the world differently” and instilled confidence in him. With that foundational work done, she and Sebastian spoke frequently about Donald and Ivana’s ideas and dreams and where they sat in the timeline of their relationship.
Bakalova found that their relationship and themselves as individuals was a constant balance of their true identities with their tabloid-ready artifice. “All of these characters, these three characters, play characters. She played the character of ‘Look at me, I’m so successful and achieved so much, and I’m so independent.’ Yet, at the same time, she is a little dependent on [Donald].” Ivana’s projection had a demonstrable effect on Donald. “I feel like he fell in love with somebody who scared him a little bit but made him want to be like her.”
For Bakalova, one of the most compelling aspects of their relationship was their inverse connections with emotional intimacy and vulnerability. “As the story progresses, [Donald] tries to completely hide all of the sensitivities within him. With her, it’s quite the opposite. She starts off as somebody who is very closed and cold and does not let anybody break through her barrier. Then, little by little, she opens up to him.”
We see that evolving dynamic play out throughout the film. Donald pursues Ivana and lavishes her with access and gifts, even flying to Aspen to meet her on a modeling shoot. Ivana regards him with bemusement that eventually gives way to affection. When they get engaged, and Cohn tries to get her to sign a prenuptial agreement, she bolts, and Donald chases after her onto the street, loudly proclaiming his love for her. The passion and devotion are dead when the film shifts into the 80s, where Trump actively belittles her business contributions and physical appearance.
The downward shift in their relationship hits a heartbreaking nadir following the death of Donald’s brother, Fred Jr., who Donald had shunned when he sought help. Donald is consumed by grief and shame, but when a pregnant Ivana reaches out to him in bed, he shuts down emotionally, possibly forever.
“I find [the scene] very important, that we see him, little by little, closing himself and not letting even the closest person to him be a part of this,” Bakalova says. “That’s the moment when he cuts the idea of [them] being together in something, which changes him drastically.”
Remarkably, that scene, arguably the film’s best, was initially shorter than what appeared in the final cut. It was also improvised. “Originally, the scene was supposed only to take place in the bathroom. It was a very short scene of him sobbing in the bathroom, and she interrupts him, wanting to be a part of it. Then he just moves on, and then it’s cut. But [director Ali Abassi] let us continue, and [cinematographer Kasper Tuxen] never stopped shooting, so the scene changed dramatically by the moment they’re in bed. I find it very powerful and very emotional. Sebastian did such a great job by letting himself feel things that have been moving emotionally for him in his personal life, and Ali and Kasper did a phenomenal job by not saying cut.”
Bakalova drew inspiration for that scene from her knowledge of Ivana’s past and her own life. In 1973, lyricist and playwright Jiří Štaidl, who Ivana described as the love of her life in her autobiography, was killed in a car accident. Ivana could grieve with the help of George (Jiří) Syrovátka, a childhood love she lived with in Montreal. “She knows that you need to be around people, even if you don’t talk to them or express exactly what you feel, but at least [you need to] be open to cry and feel things.” Maria similarly experienced the loss of a family member when she was 17, which allowed her to connect and respond to Donald’s pain. “You go through anger, sadness, apathy, and silence, which for me is the scariest part because when you close yourself off, you change who you are. And being there with him, but actually not being let to be there for him, changes their power dynamic.”
That shift manifests in gutting ways for Ivana. By the mid-80s, Donald is openly cheating on his wife. When Ivana strikes back with a joke about his unimpressive sexual performance, Donald brutally rapes her on the floor of their apartment. (Ivana accused Donald Trump of rape in a divorce-related deposition in 1990. She would subsequently renounce the accusation.) As the film approaches its end, audiences see Ivana watching silently on the sidelines as Trump makes a spectacle of an ailing Roy Cohn, her one-time adversary. There is a sense, from her perspective, that the man she had been amused and charmed by and eventually loved was lost forever. “It’s impossible to break this wall,” Bakalova explains. “There’s no going back after that.”
The Apprentice does hint at Donald Trump’s political ambitions, but the film may be more interested in the idea of the future 45th and 47th president as an American cultural monument reflecting the country’s perceived priorities and failings. If Donald Trump was the Empire State Building and Ivana was his (first) Statue of Liberty, what should audiences take from gazing upon them?
Bakalova hopes audiences see Ivana as a woman ahead of her time who wasn’t satisfied with being in the shadow of her larger-than-life spouse. “[Ivana] demanded to be seen as equal. She demanded feminism in a lot of ways. Feminism can be approached through many tools and skills, but at the end of the day, it means being seen for who you are and not being treated differently than the opposite gender. She was that person.”
As for the learnings from these monuments as a collective? “[The Apprentice] is a very smart movie that reveals a bigger picture of the American Dream, the dynamics between different layers of this country. What are you willing to sacrifice to achieve your goals? Is it worth it? How will it change you and your relationship with your family? It’s a document of time, not only of the 70s, but today and, I’m afraid to say, 40 years from now because the system somehow doesn’t change that much. It’s an interesting exploration of power dynamics and how this whole empire works.”
The Apprentice is currently available on Digital platforms.
A late-stage millennial lover of most things related to pop culture. Becomes irrationally irritated by Oscar predictions that don’t come true.
