As a passionate advocate for inclusivity and fair representation in film, I find myself deeply moved by the stories of Adam Pearson and Stan, two individuals who have grappled with the complexities of portraying disability onscreen. While both approaches – casting non-disabled actors with prosthetics or hiring actors with disabilities – present their own set of challenges, it is clear that the latter holds more authenticity and respect for the lived experiences of those with disabilities.
Adam Pearson initially viewed his acting career as a bit of a humorous twist. In 2013, he received an email about a casting call from Changing Faces, a U.K.-based organization that supports individuals with visible differences on their face, hands, or body – a group he had previously worked with. The film, titled “Under the Skin“, directed by Jonathan Glazer, was in search of someone with facial disfigurement to play a role. Given his condition of neurofibromatosis type 1, which causes benign skin tumors on his face, he seemed like an ideal candidate. However, he had no experience in acting and held no plans to enter the field. As he humorously recalled, he thought, “Let’s waste some time for a while,” before sending his resume. Subsequently, he was asked to submit a short video audition. “Before you knew it,” he said, “you were in Glasgow alongside Scarlett Johansson, left wondering what on earth had transpired.”
A significant amount has transpired since that time. Pearson admits he was overly eager, untrained, and improperly prepared when filming Under the Skin, but his scenes in Glazer’s atmospheric sci-fi thriller, where Johansson’s alien character picks him up and later releases him, remain some of the most striking moments in one of 2013’s most critically acclaimed films. (It’s worth mentioning that much of their dialogue was improvised.) Since then, Pearson, who was previously involved in casting reality TV shows, has hosted numerous TV specials and appeared on various programs, often advocating for increased representation and rights for the disabled. His latest endeavor is a prominent role in Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man, a noirish, philosophical comedy that was one of the standout titles at this year’s Sundance Film Festival and will be distributed by A24 in September, kicking off awards season.
It appears that Pearson is quite uneasy regarding the movie. I encountered Pearson at a board-game cafe called Ludoquist in Croydon, South London, where he’s spent most of his life, only a few days after the trailer for A Different Man was released online, and he’s still struggling to come to terms with it. The film is partially based on him, although not quite as one might expect. A Different Man focuses on Edward Lemuel (portrayed by Sebastian Stan), a melancholic and introverted actor dealing with neurofibromatosis whose life takes an unexpected turn when an experimental treatment miraculously removes the tumors on his face. Pearson’s character, Oswald, also has the same condition but is quite different – he’s a charismatic and confident individual who enjoys dancing, karaoke, and attracting women. Over time, this outgoing and extremely polite man manages to take everything from Edward, including his playwright girlfriend, Ingrid (portrayed by Renate Reinsve from The Worst Person in the World ), and the acting role that Edward believes he was destined for: an Off Broadway theater piece called Edward, about a man with facial disfigurement. “You think you’re watching a film about this man who gets cured, and then his life will be fine, but then Adam Pearson just knocks him down the stairs for the rest of the movie,” Pearson says, laughing.
After collaborating with Adam Pearson on the 2019 film “Chained for Life”, which was praised by critics but had a limited release, Aaron Schimberg came up with the idea for “A Different Man“. In “Chained for Life”, Pearson portrayed a subdued, kind-hearted actor starring in a B-movie thriller alongside the stunning Jess Weixler. Many viewers assumed that the character was based on Pearson himself due to his nervous and awkward demeanor. However, Schimberg explains that the character was actually more reflective of him. The director aimed to write a role for Pearson that showcased his versatile acting abilities and captivating charisma.
Spending a leisurely afternoon with Pearson involved numerous board games, a pastime he now acknowledges has spiraled into an intense passion. “I would’ve guessed I own around 20,” he confessed, “but it turns out there are 118!” As I struggle at most board games, Pearson kindly and persistently coaches me through rounds of Shobu, Onitama, and Chicken vs Hotdog.
In the heart of Croydon, I find myself face-to-face with the charismatic 39-year-old Pearson, a local legend in this bustling town. His deep roots here, evident by his continued residence with his mother in the childhood home, are intertwined with the success stories of his old friends who now own bars and eateries around the area. Our interview ended, I catch up with him at Riff Raffs, a vibrant café-bar-vinyl shop where an artist friend of his is spinning tunes. He shares with me his ongoing collaborative projects – an experimental film, potential art installation, a documentary, sitcom, and even a book proposal. When not immersed in these creative ventures on the set of Chained for Life, he spent his downtime teaching himself close-up card magic. Despite his impressive physique, showcased in both Under the Skin and Chained for Life through nude scenes, he expresses a desire to further enhance his fitness, jokingly admitting he aspires to become one of those relentless gym enthusiasts.
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Throughout his lifetime, he’s naturally tended to be outgoing. His condition was identified when he was five years old following a head injury that failed to heal properly. Interestingly, his twin brother Neil also has neurofibromatosis, but in Neil’s case it presents as memory loss instead of facial tumors. After this initial diagnosis, he endured numerous medical appointments and surgeries on his face – a total of 39 so far. “At that age,” Pearson reminisces, “you’re somewhat unaware of it all. I was also brought up from a young age to embrace life as it comes rather than dwell on what could have been. So, I’ve always been the type who just keeps going.”
However, it’s not that he was oblivious to his uniqueness; quite the contrary, it became painfully evident when he started school and faced a barrage of harassment from his classmates who nicknamed him “Elephant Man” and “Scarface,” and even spat on him. To this day, he remains aggrieved by the power plays of childhood, but he acknowledges that he retaliated just as fiercely. As he put it, “I was usually a lot smarter than those picking on me, so I’d fight back with sharp words on the playground. I might have inadvertently contributed to my own troubles because I became the issue myself.” He encounters some of his old tormentors now and then, but these meetings are amicable at best: “I find it unfair and unreasonable to judge someone based on their behavior as a teenager,” he remarks. This sentiment reflects his conviction that genuine progress in how we discuss and depict disability hinges on altering the way we address sensitive subjects. “Much of the activism today revolves around silencing those who make mistakes instead of educating them constructively,” he opines. “The middle ground of thoughtful dialogue seems to have vanished.”
Pearson understands that being more visible allows him to influence people’s responses towards him and others with similar circumstances significantly. This idea is the core of most of his on-screen work, where he takes viewers through the complexities surrounding disability with a mix of humor and authenticity. His initial documentary appearance was in a 2005 TV special titled “When Your Face Doesn’t Fit” when he was still a teenager. Upon completing university, he secured a six-month contract at the BBC as an assistant in commissioning. To expand his network, he would ask anyone willing to speak with him for coffee. This led him to work in development and eventually create and present his own shows.
In a playful critique similar to “Chained for Life,” “A Different Man” delves into the representation of disability in cinema through a more structural approach. The film features Stan, a renowned actor with numerous Marvel credits, who initially disconcerts viewers due to his prosthetic mask. Despite his impressive performance and receiving the Best Leading Performance award at the Berlin International Film Festival, I can’t deny that initial unease while watching him. This unease is deliberate as the filmmaker, Schimberg, points out, “On ‘Chained for Life,’ there was criticism about having Adam in the movie being inherently exploitative.” However, if you don’t cast actors with disfigurements, you must resort to using prosthetics, which goes against the idea of representation. The film aims to present these contrasting perspectives within its narrative.
In the movie “A Different Man,“, the appearance of Pearson’s character, Oswald, comes as a pleasant shock not just to the on-screen characters but also to the viewers. As Pearson puts it, “It’s a cunning way to an end.” The scene serves to expose the fallacy of such surprises, making the audience wonder in the first half of the film, “Can they really do that?” Then, Oswald arrives, and everyone seems to breathe a sigh of relief, almost grateful. However, Pearson also shared that he believed Stan could relate to the story because celebrities often face a similar challenge. “You might not have experienced living with a disfigurement,” he told Stan before filming, “but you do understand what it’s like to endure such intrusion when people claim they own you because they’ve seen you in Gossip Girl or Marvel films.”
It’s undeniable that celebrities wield greater influence than those with disabilities often do. However, fostering more compassionate dialogues doesn’t exclude the necessity of challenging individuals or entities who unnecessarily inflict cruelty or capitalize on such mistreatment. The Ugly Face of Disability Hate Crime highlights Pearson’s unsuccessful attempts to prompt Google, YouTube’s owner, into addressing why they haven’t acted on a comment about a clip from Under the Skin, suggesting he be burned alive. Earlier this year, he discovered a distasteful YouTube account using his image to promote a video titled “Top 10 Deadliest Substances on Earth Too Scary [sic] to Touch.” Upon reaching out to the company, he requested the video’s removal and an apology. Instead, he was offered only a private apology. “We had this peculiar exchange,” he recalls of his interactions with the company head, “he just refused to acknowledge responsibility. My family saw it, my friends saw it. You have a YouTube channel with over 7 million subscribers. That’s a duty.” In his usual Instagram videos, Pearson humorously criticizes individuals posting derogatory comments about his appearance. “I only point out the wrongdoers for a bit of fun,” he says, though he notes that he has reserved the Instagram handle @fthatguy in case he decides to escalate. However, he’s uncertain if he’ll continue doing so, as dealing with such negativity can be draining.
Furthermore, it’s possible that his schedule might be packed. Pearson has cherished the moments spent at major international film festivals. He recalls a woman at Sundance who coordinated her outfit and sunglasses with her Chihuahua. He valued the opportunity to chauffeur his mother and brother in a limo to his Berlin premiere, allowing them to witness him exit into a flurry of camera flash and sign autographs. “For years,” he recalls, “my mom would say, ‘I’m sorry, I just can’t seem to wrap my head around the fact that you’re famous.’ But then she sees me on the red carpet, laughing hysterically.”
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2024-08-28 15:54