Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord may be rooted in cultural difference, but Sebastian Stan sees its questions as much bigger than the film itself.
Speaking about the movie, Stan reflected on what Mungiu brought out of him and co-star Renate Reinsve. He also explained why the story feels important in a world that often struggles with opposing perspectives.
Sebastian Stan on Working With Cristian Mungiu
Asked about his Romanian roots and Mungiu’s approach to Fjord, Stan described the filmmaker as someone uniquely able to observe people without simplifying them.
“I think he is a master at observing life as it is and putting it up on screen and on paper,” Stan said.
He explained that Fjord carries the same attention to nuance and competing perspectives found throughout Mungiu’s work.
“It had all kinds of nuance. It had all kinds of different perspectives. He’d done the research.”
That ability to observe rather than dictate feels especially important for a film built around people confronting cultural differences, relationships and their own perspectives.
Reuniting With Renate Reinsve for Fjord
Fjord also gave Stan another opportunity to work with Reinsve.
The two previously appeared together in A Different Man, but Stan said working with Mungiu allowed them to discover something different in one another as performers.
“We have obviously worked before, but it was, in a way, we kind of met again on this thing,” Stan said. “It was a different side of us we hadn’t seen so far.”
For Stan, the experience felt meaningful beyond simply reuniting with a former co-star.
“I felt we did something important,” he said.
Why Fjord Felt Important to Sebastian Stan
Whether audiences ultimately connect with what they created is something Stan acknowledged he cannot predict.
“Whether or not it resonates, this is what now we have to see,” he said.
His uncertainty comes, at least in part, from a broader sense of disconnection he sees around him.
“It feels the world is so closed off from itself and people are, you know, staring at their phone and not looking forward.”
But Stan stopped himself from settling into pessimism.
Instead, he returned to an idea that appears central to what Fjord is exploring: difference does not have to become division.
“Celebrate Our Differences”
“I don’t want to be pessimistic,” Stan said. “I get up and I try to be very optimistic that we will continue to celebrate our differences and not attack and punish ourselves for them.”
That tension between optimism and division feels particularly fitting for Mungiu’s film.
Rather than giving audiences an easy answer about who is right, Fjord appears designed to leave viewers sitting inside conflicting perspectives.
Mungiu himself recently had said that he wants audiences to engage with those disagreements rather than simply accept the film’s point of view.
Stan’s comments suggest that discomfort is part of what makes the story worthwhile.
He believes they made something important. Whether Fjord resonates with audiences — and what conversations it creates when it does — is now something viewers will have to decide for themselves.
Reporting contributed by Josh Blumenkranz for The Nerd Wire. Follow Josh @themoviebuddyjb on socials
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