Top 10 Physically Disabled Film Characters

4. John Merrick - The Elephant Man (1980)

John Merrick (the real-life character was named Joseph Merrick) lived in the mid to late 17th century and is thought to possibly have suffered from neurofibromatosis type 1 although it is still a matter of debate.

In David Lynch's the elephant man John (Played by John Hurt) is shown to have little wrong with him mentally other than initially having adopted a state of muteness due to his harsh treatment at the hands of Bytes, the owner of the freak show Merrick is a part of, and the ogling general public. When he is gradually brought out of this state by Dr. Frederick Treves (Anthony Hopkins) he is shown to be an educated, eloquent and above all gentle person who is incredibly unfortunate in his condition.

The main achievement of the film is making Merrick an incredibly sympathetic and tragic character and encouraging the audience to see the man beneath the incredible deformity. There's contrasting views given towards Merrick between Treves, Treves' wife, a nurse who is is initially horrified by Merrick but later befriends him and a mob who gawk at and mock Merrick before assaulting him in his room.

All in all it's a tragic portrayal of a real life character which successfully puts across a 'don't judge a book by it's cover' message in a genuinely heart-rending fashion.