Having proven himself bona fide matinée idol material with his magnetic turn as Oswald in Aaron Schimberg's A Different Man last year, breakout star
Having proven himself bona fide matinée idol material with his magnetic turn as Oswald in Aaron Schimberg’s A Different Man last year, breakout star Adam Pearson has just set his next major role. Per Variety‘s reporting, the actor has signed on to lead a fresh film adaptation of Bernard Pomerance’s Tony award winning play The Elephant Man, which uses the diaries of physician Dr. Frederick Treves as a foundation to explore the remarkable true story of Joseph Merrick.
Not to be conflated with David Lynch’s 1980 film The Elephant Man, which did also centre around the life of the severely deformed Merrick, this fresh movie will mark the first cinematic treatment Pomerance’s play has received, with Bernard’s son Moby Pomerance having tackled the screenplay. What’s more, in another first, the casting of Pearson — who has neurofibromatosis and regularly uses his platform to challenge stigmas surrounding the condition — marks the first time a disabled actor will have played Merrick. Bradley Cooper, David Bowie, Billy Crudup, and Mark Hamill have famously portrayed Joseph Merrick before on stage, while John Hurt took the lead in Lynch’s film, but Pearson will be the only actor to date whose own lived experience in any way reflects the play’s subject.
“Joseph Merrick is a man I have a long and complex relationship with,” said Pearson in a statement accompanying his casting’s announcement. “From having his name used as a term of derision to learning about the man himself in documentaries I’ve presented. It’s been a cathartic journey of growing to love and respect a man who I as a child avoided even thinking about. Now as a disability advocate and actor, I can think of no greater honour (yet heavy responsibility) than to tell the true story of Joseph Carey Merrick.”
Added Bernard Pomerance’s daughter Eve, producer on the film, in her own statement, “My father never wanted prosthetics to be used on stage as he felt it took the audience out of the story. He wanted them to empathise fully with Merrick, to see themselves in him. Lines like, ‘I am not an animal, I am a man’ which have become synonymous with the play, will take on greater meaning with Adam telling this story and enable the audience to finally stand in Merrick’s shoes. My father would be beyond excited to see his dream becoming a reality.”
While we don’t yet know who will be directing The Elephant Man, or when exactly it’s set to release, we do know that it’s due to start shooting in Spring 2026. And for now, the prospect of another meaty role for Adam Pearson — and a direct cinematic adaptation of Pomerance’s play at long last — is more than enough to have our attention. Here’s hoping we get to hear Pearson flex his pipes again in this one; we still think about that karaoke scene from A Different Man on a daily basis.
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