Sebastian Stan slams reporter for calling A Different Man co-star Adam Pearson a ‘beast’ over facial tumors caused by genetic disorder
Sebastian Stan lashed out at a reporter for calling his co-star Adam Pearson an “animal.”
Stan, 42, and Pearson, 39, promoted their new film, A Different Man, at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year.
The film follows Edward (Stan) who undergoes facial reconstructive surgery, but later becomes fascinated by Oswald (Pearson), an actor who plays him in a play.
In real life, Pearson suffers from neurofibromatosis, a condition in which benign tumors grow on nerve tissue.
During a question-and-answer session, Stan lashed out at a journalist who called his character Edward an “animal” before he underwent his surgery.
Sebastian Stan, 42, attacked a reporter after he described his A Different Man co-star Adam Pearson, 39, as an “animal” at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year
Pearson (pictured) has neurofibromatosis, a condition in which benign tumors grow on nerve tissue
“What do you think happens after the transformation of this so-called beast, as he is called, into this perfect human?” the reporter asked.
“I’m going to address you on the choice of words, because I think the film is especially important because we often don’t even have the right vocabulary at our disposal,” Stan replied.
“I think it’s a little more complex than that, and obviously there’s language barriers and stuff, but you know, ‘animal’ isn’t the right word, I think.”
“I think ultimately it’s just interesting to hear that point because I feel like that’s one of the things the film is saying, you know, that we have these preconceived ideas,” the actor added.
“We’re not really trained to really understand this experience. So I can’t really talk about that, one of the things I love about the film is that it gives you a way to look at it.”
‘If you can keep the same objective point of view while watching the film, hopefully you can unravel your initial hunches. And maybe they’re not always the right ones.’
Pearson added: ‘That was the hook we gave Sebastian – You don’t know what it’s like to have a disfigurement, but you do know what it’s like to have no privacy and have your life constantly disrupted.’
“You become public property.”
The film follows Edward (Stan) who undergoes facial reconstructive surgery but later becomes fascinated by Oswald (Pearson), an actor who plays him in a play
During a Q&A, Stan hit out at a journalist who called his character Edward a “beast” before he underwent his surgery
“I’m just going to point out the word choice… I think it’s a little more complex than that, and obviously there’s language barriers and all that, but you know, ‘animal’ isn’t the right word,” Stan replied.
At Sundance, Pearson revealed that he encouraged Stan to appear in public with his prosthetics to get a feel for what it’s like to live with a disfigurement; they’re set to debut in January
“It was really interesting and a little scary to see how limited the interaction is… The only people who were really the most honest were kids,” Stan said of the experience.
Several fans in the YouTube video of the conference praised Stan for the way he handled the question.
“Sebastian answered the second question in an amazing way, I’m so proud of him,” someone wrote.
“It seems like all the reporters were focused solely on the change in his face, and not on the mental effects in terms of growth, insecurity, and/or depression the character would have gone through… So Sebastian was definitely right to call that man out on his word choice. Well done Sebastian for defending and standing up for a fellow actor,” added another.
In the film, Stan’s character changes appearance, but then gets into trouble when he loses the chance to play himself in a play based on his life. He is betrayed by another actor with a facial disfigurement.
And he becomes obsessed with what he has lost.
The film debuted in January to great acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Marvel star had to sit still for 1.5 to 2 hours every day while makeup artist Mike Marino applied prosthetics to his face.
At Sundance, Pearson revealed that he encouraged Stan to appear in public with his prosthetics to get a feel for what it’s like to live with a disfigurement.
During a panel discussion in January, Stan discussed the reactions he received when he walked around New York with the prosthetics.
“It was really interesting and also a little scary to see how limited the interaction is,” he said, according to Entertainment Weekly.
It’s just really limited between two extremes, which is: [people] won’t address it, or overcompensation. The only people who were truly the most honest were children.’
In A Different Man, Edward’s rival is played by Pearson.
A Different Man is scheduled to hit theaters on September 20; Stan and Pearson appear with Renate Reinsve in a still from the film
Pearson is a British actor and presenter who in real life suffers from facial disfigurement caused by a condition called neurofibromatosis.
Pearson has been an advocate for preventing bullying of people with facial and other disfigurements.
The film was well received by critics and fans, with Stan being named Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Writer and director Aaron Schimberg was named Director to Watch at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
A Different Man will be in theaters from September 20.