Adam Pearson Starring in ‘The Elephant Man’

in Movie, Review

Reading Time: 5 mins read

(Left) Adam Pearson in ‘A Different Man’. Photo: A24. (Right) John Hurt as John Merrick in ‘The Elephant Man’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

Preview:

Adam Pearson will star in a new adaptation of ‘The Elephant Man.’
Moby Pomerance adapted the script from his father’s play.
Filming should kick off next year.

Having already made a name for himself in his native UK thanks to his activism and TV work, Adam Pearson made the leap to movies with an impactful, if small role in ‘Under the Skin,’ in which he played one of the men who encounters Scarlett Johansson’s alien seductress.

[sc name=”movie” movie_id=”s3uDwIviLSbyvPiZlRfjR”]

Since then, he’s worked on short films and other projects, yet formed a fruitful collaboration with writer/director Aaron Schimberg, playing opposite Jess Weixler in 2019’s ‘Chained for Life,’ about a beautiful actress who struggles to connect with her disfigured co-star on the set of a European auteur’s English-language debut.

But his big break was in last year’s ‘A Different Man,’ also written and directed by Schimberg, who wanted to give Pearson a showcase for a personality more like the actor’s own outgoing energy.

‘A Different Man’ starred Sebastian Stan as Edward, an aspiring actor undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance, only to see his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare.

In that movie Pearson played Oswald, a charismatic and funny man who essentially usurps Edward’s dreams of stardom –– and ends up married to the woman he loves.

Pearson scored plenty of awards attention for his supporting turn, and now, per Variety, he’s in line to play his most important role yet: Joseph Merrick, AKA “The Elephant Man.’

Moby Pomerance has written the script for the new movie, which adapts his father Bernard’s Tony-winning stage play.

Stephen Nemeth and Eve Pomerance will produce the new effort for production company Major Motion Pictures, and shooting is scheduled to start next spring.

This could be something really big for Pearson, who has long proved he’s a star in the making.

What’s the story of ‘The Elephant Man’?

John Hurt as John Merrick in ‘The Elephant Man’. Photo: Paramount Pictures.

‘The Elephant Man’s story is that of Joseph Merrick, a real-life English man living in the 19th century who became known for his severe physical deformities.

As was the type of cruelty through misunderstanding his condition, he was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name “The Elephant Man,” and then went to live at the London Hospital, in Whitechapel, after meeting the surgeon Sir Frederick Treves.

Pomerance’s play is an adaptation of the Treves’ diaries and spans Merrick’s years at the hospital.

During his lifetime, Pomerance received thousands of letters from people around the world stating, “I am The Elephant Man,” a well-known line from the play.

Pomerance’s play gained fame because of the huge success of the adaptation, which first ran on the West End in London in 1977. It later ran on Broadway for many years and won several Tonys.

On stage, actors who have donned prosthetics to play the role include Bradley Cooper, David Bowie, Billy Crudup, Mark Hamill, Philip Anglo and David Schofield, who originated the role in 1977.

Perhaps the most famous portrayal in popular culture to date is David Lynch’s Oscar-nominated 1980 movie, where John Hurt took on the lead.

That project had no direct relation to the play, and in fact, producers of the original Pomerance play sued the film’s producer Brooksfilms at the time over the Hollywood production’s use of the same title.

‘The Elephant Man’: the actor and writer speak

Adam Pearson in ‘A Different Man’. Photo: A24.

Pearson will become the first person with actual facial issues –– in his case, neurofibromatosis –– to play the role.

He released an emotional statement about what Merrick means to him:

“Joseph Merrick is a man I have a long and complex relationship with. 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 I 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.”

And here’s what producer Eve Pomerance had to say about the new project:

“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.”

When will the new ‘Elephant Man’ arrive in theaters?

The movie so far only has backing to be made, without a distributor attached. But given the subject matter and the appeal of Pearson, we can imagine companies lining up to back it.