Trump’s mentoring by mob lawyer Roy Cohn at centre of new biopic to be shown at Cannes

Donald Trump and his mentor Roy Cohn — or at least fictionalised versions of them — are heading to Cannes.

A new film based on the former president’s life in the 1970s and 1980s will premier at the French film festival this year, with Sebastian Stan starring as Mr Trump, while Succession’s Jeremy Strong will play lawyer and prosecutor Roy Cohn.

The film, named The Apprentice, will explore Mr Trump’s career as an aspiring real estate tycoon in New York City in the 1970s and 1980s and will delve into his relationship with Roy Cohn, the New York City prosecutor who is thought to have had a considerable influence on his presidency.

The movie’s official logline reads: “The Apprentice is a dive into the underbelly of the American empire. It charts a young Donald Trump’s ascent to power through a Faustian deal with the influential right-wing lawyer and political fixer Roy Cohn.”

Mr Trump and Mr Cohn first met at Le Club, a members-only nightspot in Manhattan’s East 50s in the 1970s, according to the former president, and soon became friends and colleagues after Mr Trump sought out Mr Cohn’s legal expertise to represent him in various business dealings and legal matters.

However, Mr Cohn became more than just Trump’s lawyer; he became a mentor and a close confidant, introducing the former president to various powerful figures in New York City’s business and political circles.

According to filmmaker Ivy Meeropol, Mr Cohn “paved the way for Trump and set him up with the right people” before he ran for president, including Paul Manafort and Roger Stone, she told Vanity Fair in 2020, adding that they were the people who “helped him get to the White House.”

Meanwhile, film director Matt Tyrnauer told Esquire in 2020 that Mr Cohn