Sebastian Stan called out a reporter for describing his co-star Adam Pearson as a ‘beast.’
Stan, 42, and Pearson, 39, were promoting their upcoming movie, A Different Man, earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival.
The film follows Edward (Stan) who undergoes facial reconstructive surgery, but later becomes fascinated by Oswald (Pearson), an actor who portrays him in a stage play.
In real life, Pearson has neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes benign tumors to grow on nerve tissue.
During a Q&A, Stan hit back at a journalist who called his character Edward a ‘beast’ prior to undergoing his surgery.
Sebastian Stan, 42, called out a reporter for describing his A Different Man co-star Adam Pearson, 39, as a ‘beast’ at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year
Pearson (pictured) has neurofibromatosis, a condition that causes benign tumors to grow on nerve tissue
‘What do you think happens after the transformation from this so-called beast, as they call him, to this perfect man?’ the reporter asked.
‘I am gonna call you out a bit on the choice of words there, because I think part of why the film is important is because we often don’t have maybe even the right vocabulary,’ Stan replied.
‘I think it’s a little more complex than that, and obviously there’s language barriers and so on, but you know, “beast” isn’t the word I think.’
‘I think ultimately it’s just interesting to hear this point, because I feel to some extent that’s one of the things the film is saying, you know, is that we have these preconceived ideas,’ the actor added.
‘We’re not really educated on how to really understand this experience. So I can’t really speak to that, one of the things I love about the movie is that he’s offering you a way to kind of look at it.’
‘Hopefully if you can have the same objective point of view while you’re experiencing the film, then maybe you can pick apart the initial instincts that you have, and maybe those aren’t always the right ones.’
Meanwhile Pearson added, ‘This was the hook that we gave to Sebastian – You don’t know what it’s like to have a disfigurement, but you do know what it’s like to not have privacy and to have your life constantly invaded.’
‘You become public property.’
The film follows Edward (Stan) who undergoes facial reconstructive surgery, but later becomes fascinated by Oswald (Pearson), an actor who portrays him in a stage play
During a Q&A, Stan hit back at a journalist who called his character Edward a ‘beast’ prior to undergoing his surgery
‘I am gonna call you out a bit on the choice of words there… I think it’s a little more complex than that, and obviously there’s language barriers and so on, but you know, “beast” isn’t the word I think,’ Stan replied
At Sundance, Pearson revealed he encouraged Stan to go out in public with his prosthetics to get an idea of what it’s like for a person living with a disfigurement; they are seen in January
‘It was really interesting and sort of scary to see how limited the interaction is… The only people that really were the most honest were kids,’ Stan said of the experience
A number of fans in the YouTube video from the conference praised Stan for how he handled the question.
‘Sebastian handled the 2nd question in a best way possible, so proud of him,’ one wrote.
‘It seems like all the reporters were just focused on the changing of his face nevermind the mental effects as far as growth, insecurities and/or depression stages the character would have gone through… So Sebastian was definitely right about checking that guy on his choice of words great job Sebastian way to defend and stick up for a fellow colleague and actor,’ another added.
In the film, Stan’s character transforms his appearance, but is then crushed when he loses out the opportunity to play himself in a play based on his life to another actor with a facial disfigurement.
And he becomes obsessed about what he has lost.
The film debuted in January to much acclaim at the Sundance Film Festival.
The Marvel star had to sit for 1.5 to two hours a day as makeup artist Mike Marino applied prosthetics to his face.
At Sundance, Pearson revealed he encouraged Stan to go out in public with his prosthetics to get an idea of what it’s like for a person living with a disfigurement.
During a panel discussion in January, Stan discussed the reaction he received when he stepped out in New York wearing the prosthetics.
‘It was really interesting and sort of scary to see how limited the interaction is,’ he said according to Entertainment Weekly.
‘It just really is limited between two extremes, which is either [people] won’t address it, or overcompensation. The only people that really were the most honest were kids.’
Edward’s rival in A Different Man is played by Pearson.
A Different Man is scheduled to debut in theaters September 20; Stan and Pearson are seen with Renate Reinsve in a still from the movie
Pearson is a British actor and presenter who has a real life facial disfigurement from a condition called Neurofibromatosis.
Pearson has worked as an advocate to help prevent bullying against people with facial and other deformities.
The film has been well received by critics and fans alike with Stan being named Best Actor at the Berlin International Film Festival. Writer and director Aaron Schimberg was named a Director to Watch at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
A Different Man is scheduled to debut in theaters September 20.
