Selected at the Berlin Festival, “A Different Man” did not fail to appeal to festival-goers. And Sebastian Stan took the opportunity to correct a journalist’s comments about his character.
Sebastian Stan corrected a reporter at the Berlin Film Festival press conference for his new film, psychological thriller A Different Man, when he used insensitive language to describe his facially disfigured character.
Action Press Bestimage / A24
The film follows Edward (Sebastian Stan), who, after undergoing facial surgery, becomes obsessed with another man who plays him in a stage production based on his former life. For the first act of the film, Sebastian Stan thus underwent a physical transformation to embody the disfigured character.
As Variety reports, during Friday’s press conference, a reporter asked: “What do you think happens after this so-called monster, as they call him, transforms into this perfect man?”
“I have to quiz you a little on word choice, because I think part of the reason the film is important is that we often don’t have the right vocabulary”, replied the actor. “I think it’s a little more complex than that, and obviously there are language barriers, but you know, “monster” is not the word. And I think ultimately it’s just interesting to hear that word because I think that’s one of the things the movie says: we have these preconceptions and we’re not really informed about how to understand this particular experience.”
“It’s one of the things I love about the movie.”, he continued. “It offers you a way of looking at things, and I hope that if you can have the same objective point of view while you watch it, maybe you can sort of distinguish the initial instincts that you have, and can -maybe these are not the right ones.”
A transformation full of meaning
For the first act of the film, Sebastian Stan underwent a physical transformation to play the disfigured character – a two-hour process that allowed him to step into Edward’s shoes.
“When you undergo such a massive transformation, many things are affected: your physique, your behavior and everything else is somehow influenced by it. Of course, inevitably, this also leads to an emotional lesson and a learning lesson. For me especially, it was the experience of having the opportunity to walk around New York as Edward and the limited amount of contact I had with the world was really educational for me in many ways. respects.”
After its premiere at Sundance, where it was well received, A Different Man made its competition debut at the Berlin Film Festival on Friday evening. Directed by Aaron Schimberg, the film also stars Renate Reinsve as Julie’s revelation (in 12 chapters) and Adam Pearson, an actor who suffers from neurofibromatosis, an autosomal disease from which the character played by Sebastian Stan in the movie.
Adam Pearson, who was also present at Sundance, explained how he managed to find common ground with Sebastian Stan while discussing their characters.
“This is the approach we gave to Sebastian“, did he declare. “You don’t know what it’s like to have disfigurement, but you know what it’s like to have no privacy and have your life constantly invaded. You become public property.’”
The importance of representation
When asked about the importance of on-screen representation of disfigured people, Adam Pearson discussed his two months filming in Manhattan and the importance of presenting yourself to the world in order to normalize your appearance.
“The more you see something, the more you get used to it. And slowly but surely, this curiosity, and it is first and foremost curiosity, fades little by little“, did he declare. “I found my coffee, I found my breakfast and I found my bar. Initially, you have to do a lot of work in the conversation to destigmatize and get people used to this new experience that they’re having. The more you do it, the easier it becomes and people see it less.”
He added : “The only way to truly challenge people is to expose them to it gently and kindly. And the more we can do that and have conversations like the one we’re having now, the easier and more organic it will ultimately become.”
Discover the actor’s words in original language below:
The first opinions
After the screening of the film produced by A24, here are the first opinions from the public.
“A Different Man is by far my favorite movie this year so far. Director Aaron Schimberg perfectly balances humor, wit and drama and ultimately asks us: Is art really real?
But that’s just one of many themes in a gem of a film that keeps turning the tables until the end.”
“I still have to think about its particular ending but overall I really liked A Different Man. Beautiful balance of tones and delicate observations with a biting and intelligent storyline. Sebastian Stan is a comedic tour de force and Adam Pearson is an incredibly charismatic scene-stealer.”
“A Different Man is an interesting genre hybrid. I like the horror film of the first half more than the black comedy of the second, but the reflection of the horror of the special with that of the ordinary in the face of artistic fetishization is ambitious to say the least.”
“Sebastian Stan and Adam Pearson impress in the Berlinale competition film A Different Man. Too bad the film didn’t go further into the crazy satirical genre it had previously teased…”
A release date for A Different Man has not yet been announced.