Adam Pearson, a man of unbridled confidence and wit, has a longstanding argument with his mother, Marilyn, about his level of fame. The tension is lik
Adam Pearson, a man of unbridled confidence and wit, has a longstanding argument with his mother, Marilyn, about his level of fame. The tension is likely to surface when they’re at home in Croydon and Marilyn asks Adam to do some menial household chore. For example, when he had to carry a bag of cement down to a new shed, he joked, “What day are we going to wake up and be like, ‘Oh, thank God we kept that bag of cement!'”
This do-you-know-who-I-am moment is often met with eye-rolls from his family, as Adam has a tendency to be a bit too quick to assert his celebrity status. “That doesn’t fly well in Pearson Towers,” he smiles. “I may have said it once. It ended horribly.”
However, the debate took a turn earlier this year when Adam invited Marilyn and his twin brother, Neil, to the European premiere of his new film, A Different Man, at the Berlin film festival. The satirical drama, in which Adam stars alongside Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, had already been a breakout hit at Sundance and was now expected to make a determined awards push.
Adam’s mother was finally won over by the red carpet treatment, with people shouting his name and printing off photos of him from the internet. “So, do you realise I’m famous now?” Adam asked her, and she just killed herself laughing.
The premiere and the escalating acclaim for A Different Man has also settled his long-standing rivalry with his brother. “Well, there’s no more competition, my friend,” Adam says, mimicking a conversation with his twin. “You’re a library assistant, and I’m a soon-to-be-Oscar-nominated actor. Unless he actually cures cancer, this is over!”
Adam’s CV is stacking up nicely these days. Born with neurofibromatosis type 1, a genetic condition that produces benign skin tumours all over his face, he didn’t immediately consider a career in entertainment. He studied business management at Brighton university and landed a six-month contract at the BBC, working for Mary FitzPatrick, editorial executive of diversity.
Adam’s big break came in 2013 when he was picked by director Jonathan Glazer for the film Under the Skin. At the time, he had zero acting experience, but Adam received an email from Changing Faces, a charity that works with people with visible differences, about a casting call and decided to send off his punchy CV. Glazer was impressed, and Adam found himself heading to Elstree Studios to meet his co-star, Scarlett Johansson.
Adam has since had 39 surgical procedures to “debunk” the tumours and will have more to come. After his 40th, he plans to throw a party.
Adam didn’t pursue comedy or acting, because he couldn’t see the point. “I didn’t think disabled people were allowed in films, because I didn’t see any,” he says. “Up until quite recently, only two disabled actors have won Oscars playing disabled characters.”
The portrayal of disability onscreen is at the heart of Adam’s new film A Different Man. The action starts with Edward, who looks a lot like Adam, but is actually Sebastian Stan under prosthetics. Edward is an actor, but an unsuccessful one, until he receives a magical cure for his neurofibromatosis.
For Adam, A Different Man is a revelatory film for its depiction of disability. Too often on film, he feels, a person with a disfigurement is presented as a problem that needs fixing. Here, Edward is sent into a tailspin when he receives his magical cure. “People always think of the tragedy of going from being non-disabled to disabled,” Adam says. “And no one really talks about it going the other way.”
Adam is also clearly gleeful to play a character that’s not introverted or a loner. One, in fact, that’s much closer to his own personality. He was especially pleased to unleash his karaoke skills, which he normally reserves for Memory Box in Croydon on a Wednesday night, banging out Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ and Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins.
“A lot of my friends will accuse me of just turning up to work and being myself on camera,” Adam says, with a chuckle. “The charm and flamboyance are absolutely me. But the whole saxophone, jiujitsu stuff? Hell no! That’s not who I am.”
Adam wants to keep the run going: he’s attached to a film role he can’t talk about and on the shortlist for a big theatre part; he’s also made a documentary about “why representation in film matters” that he’s submitted to Sundance. “I want to get to a point where we can have guys like me in a film and I’m just there,” he says. “Where the disability isn’t the raison d’être for me being there.”
Still, Adam is going to keep some time aside in February and March next year in case the Baftas and the Academy Awards come calling. Who would he take as his guest to the ceremony? A long pause, “I’d probably have to take the missus.” He’s talking about his girlfriend of three years. “She’s quite a private person. I don’t really talk about her much. I don’t want her to be part of this three-ring circus.”
Conclusion:
Adam Pearson is a man of many talents and passions. From his early days in the BBC to his latest film, A Different Man, he has consistently demonstrated his ability to adapt to new roles and situations. With his quick wit and sharp tongue, he is a force to be reckoned with on screen, and his dedication to promoting disability representation in film is admirable.
FAQs:
Q: What is neurofibromatosis type 1?
A: Neurofibromatosis type 1 is a genetic condition that produces benign skin tumours all over the face.
Q: What is A Different Man about?
A: A Different Man is a satirical drama film that follows the story of Edward, an actor who receives a magical cure for his neurofibromatosis and becomes a new person.
Q: What is the significance of A Different Man in terms of disability representation?
A: A Different Man is a revelatory film for its depiction of disability, showing that people with disabilities are not problems that need fixing, but rather complex individuals with their own stories and experiences.
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