The article reports on Sebastian Stan's role in the film "Fjord," which screens at the New York Film Festival this week. In the movie, Stan portrays Mihai Gheorghiu, a conservative Romanian man living in Norway who faces legal troubles due to his strict parenting methods and religious beliefs. The film is based on a true story from 2016 where child protection services removed four children and an infant from their parents after learning about the family's disciplinary practices. The article highlights how Stan’s character, a potential abuser with homophobic views, contrasts sharply with the heroic persona fans associate with his Bucky Barnes portrayal in Marvel films.
Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-09-17,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
It brings me no pleasure to report that Sebastian Stan plays a conservative, bald homophobe—who maybe hits his kids—in his new movie, Fjord.
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who → bring → movie
But after attending a press screening of the film at New York Film Festival this week, I feel duty-bound to alert the Bucky fan girls and boys of this harsh reality.
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I → attend → reality
This new legal drama, which open in U.S. theaters on October 9, was written and directed by Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu, best known for his 2007 critically-acclaimed film, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days.
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which → open → film
For Fjord, 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.
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parents → inspire → children
The 2016 case sparked worldwide protests.
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case → spark → protests
The Bodnariu family eventually got their kids back, nearly seven months after they were taken.
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they → get → kids
Stan stars in Fjord as Mihai Gheorghiu (whose name was changed from 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.
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wife → star → Man
We meet Mihai right after he has administered an unseen punishment to his eldest daughter, Elia (Vanessa Ceban).
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he → meet → daughter
He lectures her in English, through a thick Romanian accent: “You need to learn to admit when you’re wrong.”
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you → lecture → accent
The family’s new Norwegians neighbors are bemused by the family’s austere, Christian lifestyle (no phones, no non-religious music, no dancing) and discipline system.
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neighbors → bemuse → lifestyle
Mihai leads his children in daily Bible studies, issuing “points” when they are late, interrupt, or get an answer wrong.
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answer → lead → points
And what happens when they accumulate too many points?
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they → happen → points
“They can be cheerful when they are grown-ups,” he replies, dismissive, when a neighbor asks why he punishes his children this way.
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he → reply → children
One day, Elia shows up to her new secular school with a bruise on her cheek and back.
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Elia → show → cheek
A teacher overhears her brother claiming their mother “punished” Elia.
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mother → overhear → Elia
Child protection services are called.
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services → call → ?
In the blink of an eye, all five of the Gheorghiu children are taken from their home and parents.
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five → take → home
That includes the infant baby, who is still breast-feeding.
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who → include → baby
Mihai and Lisbet are understandably distraught and outraged to have their children essentially kidnapped from them, based on a little evidence.
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children → outrage → evidence
Mihai, in particular, suspects they are being persecuted for their religious beliefs.
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they → suspect → beliefs
In the civil trial that follows, it does certainly seem that a key strategy of the prosecution is to highlight Mihai’s conservatism.
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strategy → follow → conservatism
At one point, Mihai is asked by the opposing lawyer to define “traditional family.”
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Mihai → ask → family
“A man and a woman,” Mihai replies.
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Mihai → reply → ?
The lawyer presses: Does Mihai believe in traditional families should be a marriage between only man and a woman?
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Mihai → press → man
Mihai replies with a question of his own: Is it a crime for him to believe that?
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him → reply → that
No, it’s not a crime, Mihai.
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it → ’ → ?
But it is tough for Stan stans—who love him as the sardonic, loyal, and kind-hearted BFF of Steve Rogers in the MCU Captain America franchise—to watch him a play character so blatantly homophobic.
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who → love → character
(If the “man and a woman” line isn’t enough evidence for you, know that Mihai’s youngest daughter tells another girl at school she’s going to Hell for being a lesbian—a belief she surely picked up from her father.)
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she → know → father
Was it not bad enough that loyal fans had to watch Stan play a young Donald Trump in The Apprentice last year?
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Stan → have → Apprentice
Don’t get it twisted: Stan gives a phenomonal performance in Fjord.
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Stan → get → Fjord
It’s a complete transformation, and not just because he shaved the top of his head, grew a beard, and put on a pair of glasses.
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he → ’ → glasses
The hair and costuming go a long way, sure.
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hair → go → ?
But it’s in the way Stan carries himself—his quiet, controlled anger; his careful movements—that make him virtually unrecognizable.
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him → ’ → himself
Hey, sometimes, being a great actor mean playing a character who couldn’t be further from who you are in real life.
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you → mean → life
Fjord does it’s best to avoid passing judgement on Mihai’s way of life, so perhaps audiences ought to, too.
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audiences → do → life
And we can take comfort knowing that Bucky would absolutely destroy Mihai in a fight.
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Bucky → take → fight
The Aporia
