'A Different Man' Star Adam Pearson Says His Facial Disfigurement 'Opened Doors' (Exclusive)

When Adam Pearson visits a new town or city, he knows the obvious can’t be ignored.

He anticipates stares and curiosity — and sometimes cruelty — when people first see his face, covered in tumors from neurofibromatosis.

Pearson’s approach is to boldly oppose this. “You go in and do it,” the 39-year-old actor tells PEOPLE in this week’s issue. “Like, ‘Hi, my name is Adam. I’m new here. We will be friends.’ ”

Adam Pearson recorded in 2024.

David Reiss

That confident charm inspired director Aaron Schimberg to write A different mana dark comedy premiering Sept. 20 starring Pearson and Sebastian Stan, who praises his co-star’s “charisma and courage.”

Pearson previously appeared in the 2014 thriller Under the skin with Scarlett Johansson, as well as in Schimberg’s 2019 film Chained for life. IN A different manhe plays Oswald, a dissolute hero whose facial disfigurement is only a footnote to his magnetism.

Adam Pearson with Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve in ‘A Different Man’.

A24

“I wrote the role of Oswald to show Adam’s range as an actor and as a kind of tribute to his personality,” says Schimberg. “I have a cleft palate and it shaped my perception of myself. But Adam, whose disability is even more visible, doesn’t let it define him. I was amazed by it.”

In Pearson’s hometown of Croydon, south of London, he is known for his many appearances in British documentaries and reality shows — and occasional gigs as a DJ at his local pub, Riff Raffs.

“I love me and luckily, people seem to agree with what I’m doing,” says Pearson, who jokingly called himself “God’s favorite disabled person.” He added of the unusual claim: “I think I can prove it!”

But cheeky optimism wasn’t easy to come by growing up in Croydon with his twin brother Neil. As babies, the brothers were almost indistinguishable.

Adam Pearson (right) ca. 1986 with his twin brother Neil.

Courtesy of Adam Pearson

But when Pearson was 5, he hit his head in the bedroom, and the bump never healed. After seeing specialist after specialist, he was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type 1, an incurable neurogenetic disorder that can cause tumors.

By the time Pearson was 8, the tumors had progressed and his face was visibly disfigured.

Adam Pearson as a schoolboy.

Courtesy of Adam Pearson

The taunting began. “Anytime The elephant man or The Hunchback of Notre Dame was on television, the next day I would hear that nickname”, he recalls. High school was especially painful: “I would take a deep breath before walking through the door and try to hang on.”

His brother was also diagnosed with NF1 in the meantime, but showed no outward signs of the disorder.

Despite his situation, Pearson, who has undergone 39 surgeries to remove excess tumors (“It slowly grows back, so it’s a constant cycle”), doesn’t remember feeling sorry for himself. “You can get stuck in that, ‘It’s not fair. Why is life so cruel?’ It doesn’t solve anything,” says Pearson, who has lost sight in one eye completely due to a tumor.

This Woman Had 75 MRIs, 11 Surgeries and Has 100 Tumors, Including 3 in Her Brain — Here’s Why (Exclusive)

Identical twins Neil Pearson and Adam Pearson in 2016.

Courtesy of Adam Pearson

His brother, who works as a medical librarian, eventually developed short-term memory loss and epilepsy as a result of NF1. Still, Pearson says, “My brother and I were raised to live the life we ​​have and not regret the one we don’t have.”

Acting happened by accident. Pearson was working in TV production when a facial differences charity called him and said they needed an actor with a disfigured appearance for a film. It was a casting call Under the skin. “My disability has opened more doors than it has closed,” he notes.

Adam Pearson

Anything I can do to destigmatize disability is a good thing

— Adam Pearson

But, he says, Hollywood relies heavily on “lazy writing” when it comes to disability: “I don’t think there are enough disabled voices entering the creative process. I get frustrated when people pretend they can’t find them. Granted, you don’t have to, but don’t be surprised if what you make turns out to be rubbish.”

Stan says that working with Pearson enriched his portrayal of a man who lives with disfigurement until he manages to change his appearance. “Adam speaks the truth and is incredibly honest. We clicked immediately,” says Stan. “He was kind enough to be open with me about his childhood and what he faced in life. All of that was vital to me being able to construct a past for my character.”

And Schimberg says he hopes to play Pearson in future films. “He deserves to be in other movies, movies that aren’t specifically about disability,” says Schimberg. “He’s got what it takes.”

‘A Different Man’ director Aaron Schimberg with Reinsve, Pearson and Stan at the Berlin Film Festival in February.

RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty

Sebastian Stan is completely unrecognizable thanks to the prosthetic transformation A different man Trailer

On screen or off, the actor says he will continue to be the voice — and face — of change.

It can mean not hiding from uncomfortable stares – or probing questions. “I think an honest conversation can accomplish a lot,” Pearson says. “Curiosity should be answered with kindness. All people want is to know you’re okay and they’re going to be okay. After that, it’s easy.”

This is the approach he used when he spent several weeks living in New York while filming A different man . “I had a Dunkin’ Donuts next to my apartment block, so I went there every day and got to know the staff by name,” he says. “They ended up giving me free donuts. I go into everything with a clear head and a full heart. If people want to talk, let’s talk. I know some in the disability community say, ‘It’s not my job to educate you about disability.’ But we are experts, I think I’m reckless and irresponsible if I don’t educate.”

Instead, he wants to live his life “trying to add value wherever I can,” he says. “If what I’m doing now means that young Adam Pearsons don’t have to go through hell at school, or that someone who looks like me can walk into a pub and it’s not a big deal, then I’ve achieved my goal.”

Adam Pearson recorded in 2024.

David Reiss

What is neurofibromatosis type 1?

Neurofibromatosis type 1 is an incurable, genetic disorder affecting the entire nervous system (brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nerves) that is relatively common and affects about 1 in 2,500 people. (Two other neurofibromatosis conditions, NF2 and schwannomatosis, each caused by different gene mutations, are less common.)

As seen in the cases of Adam Pearson and his brother Neil, NF1 has “variable manifestations,” says Dr. Jaishri Blakeley, director of the Johns Hopkins Comprehensive Neurofibromatosis Center. “You can inherit the gene and have very few problems, or you can have a huge burden.” Among the most common manifestations of the condition are cognitive challenges and tumors, either in the deep nerves or in the nerves that go to the skin.

“Facial overgrowth,” like Pearson’s, is less common, Dr. Blakeley says. Although surgery can “remove” or reduce the size of tumors like his, trying to completely remove such tumors can cause nerve or structural damage. “If you try too hard to ‘clean’ the tumor, you’ll lose all the cranial nerves needed to move your eyes, swallow, chew, speak,” she says.

People living with NF “face a lot of social stigma,” says Dr. Blakeley. – They will report when they go to hand over the money to the seller in the store, the seller will not take them because they are afraid that they are contagious.

What Pearson is doing by speaking out and providing a visible example of the condition “is so, so important,” she says. “He makes an example of anyone who has a physical manifestation that doesn’t match any ‘norm.’ He questions the idea that there is is norm, and says: ‘We are all normal. Your shape is your shape and should be celebrated.'”

For more on Adam Pearson, pick up the new issue of PEOPLE magazine, on newsstands nationwide on Friday, September 20.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education