A24 has released the first trailer for Sebastian Stan’s upcoming film A Different Man, which is described as “a dizzying dark comedy.”
The film centers around Edward, an aspiring actor who suffers from the genetic condition neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors to grow on the skin and bone.
Edward ends up getting facial reconstructive surgery and after that, he’s praised for his new look by co-workers and others. But then he meets Oswald (Adam Pearson), an actor who plays him in a theater show based on his life.
Edward becomes obsessed with Oswald, who looks exactly like him before he had his surgery.
Pearson is a real-life actor who has neurofibromatosis and he has starred in films like Under the Skin and Chained for Life.
The synopsis for the film reads: “Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare, as he becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.”
The movie was written and directed by Aaron Schimberg and Stan won the best actor prize at the Berlin Film Festival for his work in the film.
Stan talked about the film, saying: “I interacted with people and it was really interesting. It was sort of scary to see how limited the interaction is between two extremes: don’t address it or overcompensation.
“The only people that were the most honest were kids. I had this interaction with a little girl, and her mom is trying to do the right thing, but in doing the right thing she actually was preventing the girl from simply having an experience.
“She was brave and courageous, and that’s kids, right? They just want to know — they don’t have judgement. It was a learning lesson for me.”
The movie is set to hit theaters on September 20th.
