The actor with disabilities Adam Pearson will play the main role of the film The elephant man (The Elephant Man)a cinematographic adaptation of Bernard Pomerance’s play, reported the magazine Variety.
The 40 -year -old is known for his role in the film A Different Man. He will now play the role of Joseph Merrick in this production where filming should start in the spring of 2026.
The actor suffers from neurofibromatosis, a genetic disease that affects approximately one in 3000, according to information from the CHUM expertise center in Montreal.
Adam Pearson thus becomes the first actor with disabilities to play the role of Joseph Merrick on the big screen.
-“As a defender of people with disabilities and actor, I do not see any greater honor (but also heavier responsibility) than telling his true story,” said the actor in a statement obtained by the American magazine.
Eve Pomerance, the daughter of the author of the play, explained to Variety That his father always wanted the public to feel empathy towards the character.
“Sentences like” I am not an animal, I am a man “, who have become emblematic of the play, will take on their full meaning with Adam who will tell this story and allow the public to finally put himself in the place of Merrick. My father would be very happy to see his dream come true, ”she said.
The playwright Bernard Pomerance died in 2017.
