Aaron Schimberg talks about “A Different Man”
The UVU Review attended the premiere of “A Different Man” at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival and interviewed the artists on their work.
“A Different Man” is a movie about a man with facial deformities caused by neurofibromatosis. After undergoing a medical procedure, his features are altered into someone more handsome (played by Sebastian Stan). However, this doesn’t spell the change to his life that he was expecting, and he begins to question his decision. Dealing with themes surrounding identity and disability, this has been one of the standout films that has gotten people talking at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.
As someone with a cleft palate, director and writer Aaron Schimberg has spoken on how that has shaped what he seeks to explore in his movies. His previous film, “Chained to Life,” similarly dealt with what it is like to live with facial deformities. Whereas in his previous film, which dealt with social anxiety, “A Different Man” shows how someone can be confident in themself despite their challenges.
Adam Pearson, who worked with Schimberg in both films, was one of the inspirations behind “A Different Man.” As someone with neurofibromatosis, Pearson has not allowed that to prevent him from being an outgoing person, and Schimberg wanted to capture that with this film.
Speaking on what drew him to this role, Pearson explained, “The character jumped off the page at me. I was like, I like this guy. I could play this guy. And I could bring something to this that I don’t think other actors could.”
Renate Reinsve, who performs alongside Pearson, spoke on her challenges in this film. Hailing from Norway, this was her first English-speaking casting, and Schimberg does a lot of long takes with his films, so she had to learn lots of dialogue with only three weeks to prepare.
Schimberg spoke very highly of Reinsve. He said, “I was worried that the role wasn’t a very good role. Because I couldn’t imagine who could play this role…Everyone I tried to picture, I thought, ‘It’s not working.’ And then when I saw Renate, I thought…‘This would work perfectly.’”
The rights for “A Different Man” have been acquired by A24, but it does not yet have a general release date confirmed. For updates, check out a24films.com.
Chase Martin is a Senior at Utah Valley University studying English with an emphasis on Creative Writing.