AS one of the world’s most recognisable people with dwarfism, Emmy Award-winning actor Peter Dinklage has refused roles that ridicule or stereotype his height and instead opted for dynamic characters that stand out on both stage and screen.
The 52-year-old actor became a superstar through his role on the HBO series Game of Thrones. In a recent interview with UK daily The Times, he talks about the effects of his fame and about achondroplasia, the form of short-limbed dwarfism he was born with.
“Being my size, I get second looks quite often,” the actor standing at 4 feet 5 inches said. “My whole life I’ve had stares.”
Dinklage was the only member in his family to have the condition. He had to go undergo a corrective leg surgery when he was five.
While he said people around him still react to his size, he said it doesn't bother him today as it did back then when he was younger.
“Now there is a different reason for someone looking at me. It's up to something positive,” he shared. “It's not just my size. It's the work I did that gave them a second look. “
Recently, the actor received major attention for his role as Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano, an adaptation of his wife Erica Schmidt’s stage musical based on Edmond Rostand’s 1897 play Cyrano de Bergerac.
“Nine times out of 10,“ said Dinklage, “Cyrano is played by a handsome actor with a fake nose and you know he takes it off when they wrap.”
“The idea of a lead actor is changing now,“ he said. “Whether racially or not. It's time. We are stuck with this leading man stereotype and it is healthy to open that up. Love life is not the domain of pretty people – everyone has a love life. “
