Sebastian Stan has slammed a journalist for commenting on his co-star Adam Pearson’s facial disfigurement.
While the actors were promoting “A Different Man” at the Berlin Film Festival in February, a reporter asked them: “What do you think happens after the transformation from this so-called beast, as they call him, to this perfect man?”
Stan, 42, quickly decided to criticise the journalist “a little bit” for his “choice of words” during the panel in a video that resurfaced this week as he and Pearson, 39, were promoting the film’s US release.
“I think part of the importance of the film is that often we don’t even have the proper vocabulary,” the Golden Globe nominee explained. “I think it’s a little bit more complex than that.
“And obviously there are language barriers and all that, but you know, ‘beast’ is not the word, I think.”
In the film, Stan’s character, Edward, becomes obsessed with Pearson’s character, Oswald, who plays Edward in a stage production of his former life.
Pearson has neurofibromatosis, which is characterized by benign tumors that grow in the nervous system, both in the psychological thriller and in real life.
In his response, Stan criticized the public’s “preconceived ideas” about the disease.
“We’re not very well informed about how to really understand this experience,” he said. “So I can’t speak to that. One of the things I love about the film is that it gives you a way to look at it.”
The Emmy nominee noted: “Hopefully, if you can have the same objective point of view as you experience the film, then maybe you can analyze the initial instincts that you have. And maybe those aren’t always the right ones.”
As for Pearson, he chimed in to acknowledge that Stan doesn’t know “what it’s like to have a disfigurement.”
However, she said, “(Stan) knows what it’s like to have no privacy and to have your life constantly invaded. You become public property.”
Many YouTube users praised Stan for defending his co-star in a “very kind” and “sensible” manner.
Meanwhile, others defended the journalist, pointing out that he was “not a native English speaker.”
Another wrote: “Then one noticed that the journalist (said): ‘This supposed beast, WHAT DO YOU CALL IT?’ The journalist was using the words used in the film. Actually, it was not necessary to call it that. Sebastian Stan misunderstood it.”
“A Different Man” premiered in January.
Stan’s next film will be “The Apprentice,” in which he will play Donald Trump.
The “Gossip Girl” alum has a history of playing real people on screen, most recently as Tommy Lee on Hulu’s “Pam & Tommy.”
