‘A Different Man’ star to play ‘The Elephant Man’ in new film adaptation

Adam Pearson, who last year starred with Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, has been cast in the lead role of John Merrick in a new adaptation of the play The Elephant Man.

• READ MORE: ‘A Different Man’ review – Sebastian Stan stuns in one of the most original films of the year

First produced on stage in 1977, Bernard Pomerance’s play told the real-life story of Joseph Merrick, referred to as John in the plot. He was born with extreme facial deformities, which saw him cruelly displayed on Victorian freak show stages as The Elephant Man.

Taken into the care of physician Frederick Treves, Merrick reveals himself to be a gentle and thoughtful man, who wishes to be treated with the same humanity as anyone else. Merrick has been played on stage over the years by actors such as David Bowie, Mark Hamill, and most recently Bradley Cooper.

Variety reported that this new big screen adaptation will begin filming in spring 2026, from a screenplay written by Pomerance’s son, Moby. The playwright’s daughter, Eve, will also produce the film.

In 1980, David Lynch made a film on the life of Merrick, also titled The Elephant Man, with the late John Hurt in the lead and Anthony Hopkins playing Treves. However, this was based on the physician’s diaries and not the play. The producers of the Broadway production at the time sued the film for its use of the title.

Making his film debut opposite Scarlett Johansson in 2013’s Under The Skin, British actor Pearson will be the first disabled actor to play Merrick. He has neurofibromatosis type I, which causes non-cancerous tumours to grow on nerve tissue, most notably on his face. He has made many TV documentaries challenging perceptions of disfigurements.

Last year he appeared in A Different Man with Sebastian Stan, where the Marvel star plays a man with a similar condition who has surgery to change his face, only to meet Pearson’s character Oswald, who brings up past insecurities.

In a statement to the outlet, Pearson said of his new role: “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.”

He continued: “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.”

NME gave A Different Man five stars in its review last October, describing it as: “A film that twists, and keeps on twisting, until you just don’t know where it’ll go next, it’s a wild, weird and wondrous ride.”

The post ‘A Different Man’ star to play ‘The Elephant Man’ in new film adaptation appeared first on NME.