SCOTT SIMON, HOST:
In the new film "A Different Man," Edward lives in a small New York apartment. He's got a leaky roof. He's surrounded by loquacious and irreverent neighbors, trying to be an actor, but works infrequently, mostly in what looks to be HR department videos cautioning workers now to include co-workers with visible challenges.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A DIFFERENT MAN")
VANESSA MCDONNELL: (As PSA narrator) If they appear to be in distress, gently inquire if they need your help, without assuming their dependence on you.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: (As PSA character) Hey. Hey, man, you all right? You need to lie down or something?
SEBASTIAN STAN: (As Edward, playing character) No. This happens from time to time. It'll pass. Thanks for asking, though.
SIMON: Edward has a genetic condition in which tumors grow below his skin. He submits himself to an experimental medical procedure that gives him a new face that's like, well, a movie star's. His new face upends his life but doesn't make Edward happy. "A Different Man" is written and directed by Aaron Schimberg. Adam Pearson is one of the stars, and they both join us from Los Angeles. Thanks both very much for being with us.
ADAM PEARSON: Thanks for having us.
AARON SCHIMBERG: Thank you.
SIMON: Mr. Schimberg, Edward seems pretty sure how people see him, but it's in New York where people see a lot. How sure is his feeling about how people see him?
SCHIMBERG: I think - you know, I think that's one of the questions the film is asking. I myself have a cleft palette, and I learned very young that people sometimes view me differently, and I sort of carry that with me wherever I go. So that's the feeling I wanted to give. Whether they are treating me differently or whether they're not, this is the question that sort of defines my every interaction that I have. So I wanted to give Edward that same mindset.
SIMON: Yeah. Adam Pearson, we should explain, you have this condition, which I won't expect to pronounce. Could I get you to tell us what it's called?
PEARSON: I have a genetic condition called Type 1 Neurofibromatosis. So it affects the 17th chromosome in the human genome. And it has a prevalency rating of 1 in every 2,300 births, which puts it just within the benchmarks for being classified as rare. And I'm very much at the extreme end of the severity spectrum. On a 1 to 10 on the spinal tap of the condition, I've turned it all the way up to 11. And it's characterized by the growth of noncancerous tumors on nerve endings, and most of mine are on my face and upper torso.
SIMON: Yeah. Aaron Schimberg, what drew you to make a film about this?
SCHIMBERG: Well, I mean, there are a few factors. One, as I mentioned, it was my own personal experience, and that has led me to explore the subject of disfigurement and disability in all my films. In my previous film, I had worked with Adam, a film called "Chained For Life." And I thought he was absolutely fantastic in the movie. But he's playing a shy character, which he also played in this film "Under The Skin." And people sort of assumed that he was playing himself.
Adam is quite gregarious and extroverted, and I wanted to show this other side of him. And I personally was also sort of inspired by how he takes ownership or control over how he wants to be perceived by others, which I myself have struggled to do. So that alone has sort of sent me into an identity crisis, and the film is really about an identity crisis.
SIMON: You went through an identity crisis over this?
SCHIMBERG: In many ways, I've let the fact that I have a cleft palate define me. And, you know, I think it's caused me a certain amount of social anxiety and things like that. And to meet Adam, who is gregarious and seems to be beloved by all those around him, I certainly wondered, you know, have I been doing something wrong? Have I lived my life incorrectly? You know, could I change my personality and my outlook, or is this just the way I am? So, you know, that's what the film is really about to me.
SIMON: Adam Pearson, your character, Oswald, appears, and I think it's safe to say you take over the film - witty, wise, this irresistible British accent.
(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "A DIFFERENT MAN")
PEARSON: (As Oswald) Oh, pardon the intrusion. I met this casting director. Unique and unusual physiognomy is his specialty. And he told me about this interesting play you're auditioning for and thought I could potentially be a perfect fit. So I'm no actor, but I thought, let's come down here, give it a gander.
SIMON: What was it like for you to finally play the romantic lead?
PEARSON: Well, it's always fun to show range as an actor. 'Cause once you've shown range, then someone has to do something with you as an actor. And now, at some point, someone's got to give me my flowers and - at the risk of sounding heinously cocky - give me my dues. And so it was, like, rock up and be someone, like, out there and gregarious and a bit loud and wear this, like, wacky wardrobe - was, like, really good fun. It's a great role. I think it's - with respect to my other roles - my favorite one I've done so far.
SIMON: There's so many technological ways of altering appearances these days. Was it important to you to go to this real person, Adam Pearson, to tell this story?
SCHIMBERG: One of the reasons I made this film, or one of the inspirations behind it, was that I had used Adam, as I said, in my previous film, and I used other people with disfigurements and disability. And some people had said that just having Adam in my film was exploitative. And I was a little taken aback by this because it's always been my intention to cast people who have disabilities playing people with disabilities. That seems to be some kind of step forward to me.
But if I'm criticized for that, you know, and then the only other option is to cast people who don't have disfigurements and put them in prosthetics. And that seems to be problematic in its own way. So to me, it was like, if I can't do one and I can't do the other, it's almost as if this is a subject that people don't want to deal with or explore. And so I was sort of inspired to put both of these ideas in a film. You know, cast somebody in prosthetics and to cast Adam and have them sort of battle it out within the film.
SIMON: Mr. Pearson, we should explain you're a very well-known presenter in the U.K.
PEARSON: Yeah. I have a strong background in, like, documentary and current affairs. I did a good five years of just food programming. And I think that's when the industry is at its best, when someone like myself who has quite a visible disability can turn up to work or turn up on-screen, and the disability isn't the raison d'etre. They can sort of, like, break out of that box or break the mold, the stereotype cliche and just turn up to work 'cause they're damn good at their job.
SIMON: I feel the need to ask a question. I would absolutely understand it if you tell me none of my business, but may I broach it to you?
PEARSON: You may, good sir.
SIMON: If, indeed, there were an operation that could change your appearance, would you be interested?
PEARSON: No. Not at all. Not at all. I think we all need to learn to live the lives we've got and not mourn the ones we don't. Everyone tends to think of how hard it is to go from being nondisabled to disabled and that sort of shock to the system. And no one seems to be willing to think about how hard it is to do it the other way around - to go from living in one sort of set of circumstances to a completely different set. And I guess that's one of the things, of many, that this film is looking to explore - the idea of, is who we are on the outside who we are on the inside?
SIMON: Aaron Schimberg, do you want people walking out of your film saying, boy, I learned something, or, gee, that was a good time?
SCHIMBERG: I have to make a choice here...
SIMON: No.
SCHIMBERG: ...Between one or the other (laughter)?
SIMON: Not at all.
SCHIMBERG: I hope both. We've been talking a lot about disfigurement and disability. But, you know, it should be a fun time and suspenseful. And I also should mention that I think of it as a comedy. So I hope people enjoy themselves. But I also want them, certainly, to be introspective about it, and I hope it makes people think. But it's not for me to tell people what to think about or how they're going to react to it.
SIMON: They can have a good laugh.
SCHIMBERG: Oh, absolutely.
SIMON: Aaron Schimberg is the writer and director, Adam Pearson, one of the stars, of "A Different Man " in theaters now. Thank you so much, both of you, for being with us.
PEARSON: Thank you for having us. Been a pleasure.
SCHIMBERG: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF JAYLA DARDEN'S "IDEA 43") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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