Sebastian Stan has been praised on social media after correcting a reporter's poor choice of words during a press conference.
On Friday (February 16), the 41-year-old Marvel star attended a Q&A panel at the Berlin Film Festival to promote his new A24 film titled: A Different Man.
In the Aaron Schimberg–directed psychological thriller, Stan plays Edward, an aspiring actor who undergoes a reconstructive procedure to drastically change his disfigured appearance.
When a stage actor (portrayed by Adam Pearson) who mirrors his original appearance is cast to play him in a stage production of his life, Edward finds himself becoming obsessed with him.
During a press conference in Germany, the Romanian-American actor was left stunned when a journalist used the word "beast" to describe the character before the surgery transformed his appearance.
The unnamed reporter, who complimented the film before his question, asked: "What do you think happens after the transformation from this so-called beast, as they call him, to this perfect man?"
Stan pushed back on the remark, stating: "I have to call you out a little bit on the choice of words there because I think part of why the film is important is because we often don’t have, maybe even the right vocabulary. I think it’s a little bit more complex than that and obviously, there’s language barriers and so on and so forth - but, you know, 'beast' isn’t the word."
Watch the moment below:The Gossip Girl actor reflected on the film's message and added that he found the interviewer’s point interesting: "I feel like that’s one of the things the film is saying: We have these preconceived ideas, and we’re not really educated on how to really understand this experience in particular. The things that you’re saying about him at the beginning, that’s your interpretation."
"Everyone might have a different interpretation of what he’s going through. That might not be it; it might’ve been just for you. I can’t really speak to that," he continued. "I think it’s just… one of the things I love about the movie is that he’s offering you a way to look at it."
"And, hopefully, if you can have the same objective point of view while you’re experiencing the film, maybe you can kind of pick apart the initial instincts that you have, and maybe those aren’t always the right ones," he concluded.
Many fans took to social media to applaud the actor, with one user stating: "It's fantastic to see #SebastianStan highlighting the importance of language."
Another chimed in: "In 2024, a reporter should know better to not use 'beast' to describe someone with facial disfiguration," while a third added: "Good job, Seb! Reporter should know better! Especially when it’s towards an actual real person."
A fourth user shared: "Proud to be a long time fan of someone who isn’t afraid to speak out for disability rights!"
Norwegian actor Renate Reinsve and British actor Adam Pearson - who has neurofibromatosis, a genetic disorder that causes tumor growth along the body’s nerves - also star in the movie.
The Fresh actor has previously opened up about receiving "limited" reactions from people while he was sporting his facial prosthetics for the upcoming movie.
Speaking at the Sundance Film Festival last month, Stan said: "It just really is limited between two extremes, which is either [people] won’t address it, or overcompensation. The only people that really were the most honest were kids," per Entertainment Weekly.
He recalled an incident with a young girl and her mom "who was just being a parent and trying to do the right thing, but in doing the right thing, she was actually preventing the little girl from just simply having an experience".
"She was just being inquisitive, and she was brave and courageous, and that's kids, right? It’s like they just want to know. They don’t have judgment. It was a learning lesson for me, really," he added.
A Different Man will be released this year.