Actor Sebastian Stan is no conservative, but he believes his new movie Fjord is, and he traveled to Comedy Central and The Daily Show on Wednesday to promote it and defend its themes from host-of-the-week Michael Kosta, who wondered if people are “overthinking it.”
According to The Hollywood Reporter’s Scott Roxborough, Fjord is about how “a Romanian Evangelical family, headed by father Mihai (Sebastian Stan) and mother Lisbet (Renate Reinsve), moves to Norway, only to be confronted by local welfare authorities, who view their traditional child-rearing methods — including occasional corporal punishment — as child abuse. The legal trial that follows becomes as much about their beliefs as about the alleged crimes committed.”
It is inspired by the 2015 case involving the Romanian-Norwegian Bodnariu family, who had their children—including an infant—taken for seven months by Norwegian authorities ostensibly over corporal punishment but also what seemed to be anti-Christian bias. After intense international pressure, Norwegian authorities backed down, and the family relocated to Romania.
With all that as context, Kosta asked, “Some people might characterize the themes of this movie as fairly conservative. What's your response to that? Are people overthinking it?”
Not only did Stan not back down from the conservatism in the film, he wondered why people would consider that problematic, “No. I mean, 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. 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. But when did, I mean, this is one thing. Like, when did conservative become so wrong?”
Stan also declared, “I didn't really grow up in that kind of a religious environment, but 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.”
Before applauding Hollywood for making a film that shows “tolerant” progressives acting intolerantly, it must be noted that Fjord is a European production. So, while Stan’s comments are welcome, those in Hollywood would be wise to heed them.
Here is a transcript for the October 7 show:
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/7/2026
11:26 PM ET
MICHAEL KOSTA: Some people might characterize the themes of this movie as fairly conservative. What's your response to that? Are people overthinking it?
SEBASTIAN STAN: No. I mean, 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—
KOSTA: YEAH
STAN: —that they have and the desire that they have to, you know, raise the kids in the best way they can. 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. But when did, I mean, this is one thing. Like, when did conservative become so wrong?
KOSTA: Right
STAN: You know, I guess. I didn't really grow up in that kind of a religious environment.
KOSTA: Right
STAN: But 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.
