Here’s something you probably were not expecting to read today: Woody Allen thinks that Donald Trump is a pretty good actor. The director opened up about his experience working with the president while on Monday’s episode of Bill Maher’s “Club Random” podcast.
Allen worked with Trump on his 1998 film “Celebrity,” which starred Trump as himself. The movie marks one of Trump’s few acting roles alongside “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” “Sex and the City,” “Zoolander” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.”
The director said that Trump “hit his mark, did everything correctly and had a real flair for show business.” Allen then clarified that while he was impressed with his acting chops he doesn’t support Trump or most of his policies.
“I am a Democrat. I voted for Kamala Harris, and I take issue with him on 95% of the things — maybe 99%,” Allen said. “But as an actor, he was very good. He was very convincing, and he had some charismatic quality as an actor.”
Allen also noted that he was “surprised” that Trump decided to go into politics because of all the stress that comes with the field. Around the time Allen worked with Trump, the now-president was a staple in New York’s social scene.
“If he would let me direct him now that he’s president, I think I could do wonders,” Allen said. “But he was very easy to work with.”
It’s not often that Allen appears in headlines these days. Around the height of the #MeToo movement, his adoptive daughter Dylan Farrow publicly accused him of sexually abusing her as a child. Though these allegations have been made since the 1990s and Allen has always denied them, they gained more attention in 2018. During that time, Maher was one of the celebrities who continued to defend Allen. However, the 2018 resurgence of allegations didn’t stop Allen from releasing three new movies.
You can watch Allen’s full interview on “Club Random” in the video above.
