The entertainment industry includes all kinds of people, but let’s be honest: There is a Hollywood type. So where does that leave actors who don’t fit the mold?

Actor Adam Pearson has neurofibromatosis, which causes tumors to grow on his face and upper body. His latest movie is called A Different Man and it’s centered around the power of his condition.

Crystal Marshall has loved acting since she was a little kid. But when she developed cancer in her face at 18 years old, requiring multiple surgeries to rebuild her face, teeth, and upper jaw, that didn't stop her from applying to and graduating from the prestigious London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art with a degree in Professional Acting.

Hear how both of them have become powerful advocates for expanding representation of all kinds of faces in the entertainment industry.

Resources:

• myFace - US-based non-profit support organization for people with craniofacial differences
• Changing Faces - UK-based charity advocating for individuals with a visible difference to the face, hands, or body

Suggested episodes:

• Facing the world with visible facial differences
• Actors with facial differences discuss what it means to be seen
• The Story Of The First African American Face Transplant

GUESTS: 

• Adam Pearson: actor, speaker, and disability rights campaigner. His latest film, A Different Man, was released on September 20, 2024. Besides his roles in movies, he made many documentaries, among them The Ugly Face of Disability Hate Crimes and Freak Show. His TEDx talks have covered topics like fear and the stigma of disability
• Crystal Marshall: an actress and facial equality advocate who graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2024