Robert Kojder chats with A Different Man star Adam Pearson…
Adam Pearson might not be a name that rings a bell to readers (yet), but he is certainly someone who won’t be forgotten once exposed to him. That complement also has less to do with being facially different and more with his charming onscreen presence, dark sense of humor, not to mention a spirited disposition despite a disability. Among his dedicated work in disability activism, Adam Pearson is also an actor (first scene getting suckered into danger by a seductress Scarlett Johansson alien in Under the Skin) who has gone on to collaborate with disabled filmmaker Aaron Schimberg, confronting head-on societal topics that force able-bodied people to rethink and reevaluate the way they perceive and interact with members of the disabled community.
Their second project together, A Different Man, is a captivating psychological dark comedy that follows Sebastian Stan playing Edward, a miserable sadsack born with the same condition as the real Adam Pearson, who, in the film, undergoes a radical facial reconstruction treatment under the assumption that every aspect of life will improve without the facial difference. Meanwhile, Adam Pearson is Oswald, an extroverted and magnetic presence capable of instantly getting a room on his side, something that Edward could never even dream of doing when he had the facial disfigurement. At the center of the film is the production of a theatrical play about Edward’s life, headed by Renate Reinsve, a somewhat misguided woman with the whole situation calling into question who gets to tell stories about the disabled and who gets to play them, and how those lines get muddled given the unique circumstances here.
What stands out most is that Adam Pearson is also quick-tongued and funny while answering serious questions, demonstrating that there is an extension of self up there on screen. He is also unafraid to be vulnerable and talk about his personal life as we discuss similar but different instances of disabled life. His ability to see the upside of a situation and even optimism that people can be taught how to think differently regarding how they treat or talk to disabled individuals is also on display. Naturally, there is also discussion of the film and some irresistible asides, such as his love for professional wrestling, which I also share.
Most importantly, Adam Pearson delivers a phenomenal performance that deserves Best Supporting Actor consideration. Regardless of what happens there, A Different Man is a thrilling, hilarious psychological delight that should be seen. Please enjoy my interview with the glue holding this tricky balancing act together, Adam Pearson:
It’s awesome talking to you! I love this movie and went in knowing nothing about the story, so I was hooked by how much of it feels like a prolonged punchline of a gut-punch joke played on Edward. So I have to ask, don’t we disabled people have the sharpest, darkest sense of humor?
Oh, yeah! I think when you grow up with a disability, you develop this real, dark edge to you. Initially, it’s more of a survival technique. Then, the older you get, the more you sort of harness it and make it a skill. Originally, we were going for a psychological thriller, and then we started doing test screens. I was talking to Aaron [the director], and he was like, “Yeah, people keep laughing”. And I’m like, have we accidentally made a comedy? Is that what’s happened here? Has me kicking Sebastian Stan down the stairs for like two hours accidentally made us funny?
[Both laugh]
Also, I noticed that the film makes a point in the opening credits to note that you only play Oswald, which obviously you want to be made clear for general audiences, but do you also think that works on a thematic level that you or Oswald would never want to be confused with a polar opposite like Edward, since you are nothing alike in real life?
Yeah, I think that was a point we wanted to make, but we also wanted to sort of like play with the tropes that exist around disability and disfigurement. The three main tropes that people tend to use with disfigurement are victimhood, villain, and false hero. So with Edward, we almost kind of set up the trope, which got us to want to come in and almost, well, I say, almost just utterly destroy it. That’s why we like working with Aaron because he likes playing with all these sorts of tropes and misconceptions and creating a set level of awkwardness to sort of just sit in and challenge our own preconceptions and almost hold up a mirror as to how we all feel and how we’ll think and, and be like, really, maybe let’s have a, a reset.
This film is about how changing who you are on the outside doesn’t change things on the inside. Thankfully, I never had to go on a journey like Edward to realize that, but are you comfortable talking about a moment when you accepted or realized that disability or not, life is what you choose to make of it?
Yeah, I was always raised by two very strong parents who taught me young that it’s important to live the life you’ve got rather than cover it with the one you want. So from a young age, I was like, okay, okay, cool. Maybe it’ll only be this hard, but I think it’s supposed to be. If life was that easy, everyone would be crushing it, which would be quite boring. And I think our struggles, our darker moments, teach us resilience and perseverance. It has just been a continuous process of learning, growing, and crying.
I’m sure we are both familiar with being stared at in public. I have a friend who is a conventionally attractive woman, and the first time we went somewhere together was at a comic convention. Of course, people were staring, confused as to why we were hanging out together, much like a small supporting character in this movie maxing an accusation about Oswald. So why do you think it is so hard for some able-bodied people to accept that our personalities can get us far or where we want to be?
I think this is part of a beauty culture that really kicks in with the invention of social media. So now we all look at people at their best and compare our behind-the-scenes living or other people’s greatest hits. I also think we do the word beauty a massive disservice, most quantifying it. And I have a very similar thing with my best friend, who is very, very classically attractive, and when we hang out, people are like, “What? What’s going on? Is she your carer?” And it’s like, “No, she’s my best friend because I am funny and charming, and people gravitate to me. And the fact that you are not my friend is your loss, not mine.” If people don’t get it, on the one hand, it’s not my job to teach them, but on the other hand, if I don’t teach them, it’s not like anyone else is going to. It is this weird balancing act that one must try and get right as to when and where teaching moments arise that are worthwhile and what ones aren’t.
I’ve always been a huge advocate of challenging people’s misconceptions. I always say that good advocacy and good storytelling will change what people think, but great advocacy and great storytelling will change how they think. And I’m always trying to change how people think for the long term rather than what they think for the shorter term.
That’s a great way to look at things. Oswald is an extrovert, much like yourself, doing karaoke, among other things. But was there ever a time Aaron had an idea for a scene or asked you to do something you were unsure about and had to work up some courage to do?
Even the karaoke scene, they sent me the song ahead of time, Rose Royce’s “I Wanna Get Next To You.” So I sat there and learned it. Normally, I’ll go and do karaoke with my mates and have a good time, but it’s not about doing anything at you. These are extras you’ve just met in a room that sort of makes me think, “Oh, I’m not sure I’m, ugh, wow, let me think, I signed paperwork, I’ve gotta do this now.” But even then, even if you’re scared, I think you have to be kind of scared and do it anyway. Now, that song haunts my dreams.
Aaron should have let you choose the song!
Well, it’s what we could get the rights to. On my Spotify in 2022, it’s all this sort of like rock, metal, and punk, and then out of nowhere, Rose Royce’s “I Wanna Get Next To You.” I’m like, oh God!
What kind of conversations did you have with Sebastian Stan regarding how to portray someone facially different, or did you hold back some because you don’t have the same personality as Oswald?
So with that, because it’s disability, you don’t get it to get it. I can be the guy that sends ’em away to do loads of desk research and then get back to me because I could. I could do loads of reading about basketball and learn everything about basketball, but if you put me on the starting lineup for the ball, we’re all in bigger trouble than we already are. So I’ve always said that the two easiest ways to lose your social anonymity are to have a disfigurement or be a celebrity. So often you might not understand what it’s like to act because you look different, but you do understand what it’s like to have your privacy invaded or compromised because you’re an actor. So it’s telling Sebastian to harness that feeling and then bring it to the role. Also, when you’re in the prosthetics, right before we start shooting, just go for a walk around the block, go and order coffee, and sort of give people an action and sort of sit in that moment for a while and then bring all that to set. And if it makes you anxious and scared, cool, be scared and do it anyway.
I love that advice; being scared can benefit us. Also, while researching, I actually came across a YouTube video of you as a guest on a channel putting a wrestling-related spin on board games. As a lifelong wrestling fan, I have to ask you if you would ever be interested in working in that industry?
I would love to get into the wrestling industry. I know a lot of the guys who wrestle for Progress and RevPro, so I’ve always sort of been around it and found it utterly, utterly fascinating. The only thing that might put me off is that I don’t want to monetize a hobby. I don’t want to ruin the mystique for me. But yeah, I’m a massive fan. It’s one of the most unique forms of storytelling available.
Ingrid is a misguided person who uses Edward’s tragedy for personal artistic gain. Did you or Aaron base that character on anyone? And can you talk about what it was like working with Renate Reinsve?
So it isn’t that I know of, but I think the character is there to ask those questions about exploitation. Who can play, what, and where or where are the lines? Are there lines, and if so, how deep do they run? How flexible are they? And Renate was superb. She is just delightful off and on set. This was her first English-language film. Aaron writes a lot of really long dialogue-heavy one-take scenes, and she crushed it and got such a real presence and energy to her. If I ever rocked up the set one day feeling a bit, I don’t know, tired or homesick; she’d be like, “Hey, you,” and literally lift the mood of a room when she walked into it. Then Sebastian just brings a real kind of presence, and I feel safe working with him because he’s a very seasoned professional. When you are with someone, and you know that they know what they’re doing, it makes you a good actor as well.
Can you talk about the first time you saw Sebastian wearing that makeup prosthetic?
The first time I saw was at a social event. I was like, okay, Michael Mareno did his job, didn’t he?
Oh yeah. Also, as a huge fan of Michael Shannon, I have to ask what it was like working with him and how he got involved in that cameo.
I have no idea how Aaron got that cameo because he was in the script as “other actor” or “actor guy” or something. And Aaron goes, “Adam, come here”, and okay, cool. “Adam, this is Michael Shannon”. And I’m like, okay, okay, cool, cool. Don’t freak out. Sure, you are sitting by Zod. Michael said, “I love you in Chained for Life.” I was like, “Thank you. I love you.” He’s super cool.
Speaking of Chained for Life, I saw that movie and loved it. Why do you think you click so well with Aaron Schimberg?
We have very similar lived experiences, and I think we both get it and want to do the same thing. Through the course of doing two films together, we’ve just become really good mates and we trust and respect each other implicitly. That’s really important when working on a creative endeavor, particularly ones out there and thought-provoking as Chained for Life and A Different Man. When we were in Utah, we lived in the same condo. And I think when you spend so much time on something as intense as making a film, you do literally become like a family. I was a big fan of his first film, Go Down Death, and I love how he thinks. I love the way he writes, and I think he just gets it.
You two make a hell of a pair, and I hope you continue making movies together.
I’ll work with every Berg for as long as he is willing to put up with me … [laughter].
Can you point to a specific moment where disability activism became one of your passions?
Oh, I think I’ve always been someone who’s big on justice, so whenever you see inequality, I’m all wound up. I think if you want to change the world, you need to ask yourself three questions. What do you like, what are you good at, and what pisses you off? You find a sweet spot between all of those things. And as I’ve grown older, I think I’ve sort of gotten better at it. I think when I was younger, I didn’t. I was shouting at people I disagreed with and telling them they were wrong. And then you get older, and you learn that there’s kind of nuance to this, that you catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and that you learn to talk to people you disagree with.
Then, I love correcting or altering opinions to, as I said earlier, change how they think rather than what they think. Once you are, I guess, too steadfast one way or the other, it removes any kind of conversation you can have. Like when the photos of Sebastian in the makeup came out in the press, instantly a very small handful of disabled advocates went, “This is awful, oh my God, what is Adam Pearson doing associated with this?” And I’m only going, whoa, whoa, whoa, you haven’t seen the movie. At least see a trailer. And then it’s like, “What were you thinking? You could have called; you’ve got my phone number, right?”
Do you have any theatre connections? And can you talk about your preparation for that aspect of the role?
I haven’t done classical theatre but dabbled in standup comedy. With theatre, you get instant feedback. There’s not this kind of doing it, editing it, and waiting two years to find out if it’s good or not. You learn right there in the room in like half a second. And that’s a whole different level of intimidation. As an actor, you want to learn as much as possible about everything from a pure, holistic point of view.
Thank you so much for your time. I’m glad that you’re not concerned with the ethics of representation and that you’re just concerned with making good movies, and this is a great movie.
Yeah, totally. If the movie is good, the representation will sort itself out.
Thank you so much for your time. It was an honor talking to you. Have a great day, and enjoy Chicago.
You too. Thanks for talking to me, good sir. Gonna go get some pizza.
Nice. Where?
I went to Lou’s last night, and I need to go to Giordano’s today.
Awesome. It was wonderful meeting you.
You too, sir. Take care.
Many thanks to Adam Pearson for taking the time for this interview. You can read our review of A Different Man here.
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
