Peter Dinklage.Photo: Karwai Tang/WireImage

Peter Dinklage

Peter Dinklageis used to getting attention, but the actor says now, it’s notjust for his appearance but for his work in Hollywood.

“Being my size, I get second looks quite often. My whole life I’ve had stares,” Drinklage, 52, said during a recent interview with U.K. outletThe Times.

Dinklage, who is 4 feet, 5 inches tall, was born with achondroplasia, according toThe Guardian. The condition is a form of skeletal dysplasia that “leads to shorter bones … and shorter stature,” according toJohns Hopkins Medicine.

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Peter Dinklage

“Now there’s an ownership to someone looking at me or approaching me. It’s because of something positive,” he toldThe Times. “It’s not just my size. It’s the work I’ve done that has afforded them a second look.”

Dinklage is widely known for his role as Tyrion Lannister on HBO’s fantasy dramaGame of Thrones. Since the show wrapped in 2019, he has appeared inThe Croods: A New Age,Between Two Ferns: The Movieand Netflix’sI Care a Lot.

In his latest role, he plays the titular character in Joe Wright’sCyrano, an adaptation of “Cyrano de Bergerac.” The film follows Cyrano, a man who is “convinced that his appearance renders him unworthy of the love of a devoted friend, the luminous Roxanne (Haley Bennett),” per the officialCyranodescription.

The description continues, “Cyrano has yet to declare his feelings for her — and Roxanne has fallen in love, at first sight, with Christian (Kelvin Harrison, Jr.).”

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Dinklage toldThe Timesthat his casting as Cyrano marks a change in the history of the classic play.

The actor added, “The idea of a leading actor is changing now. Whether racially or whatever. It’s about time. We’ve been stuck with this stereotype of a leading man and it’s healthy to open that up. Love life is not the domain of pretty people — everybody has a love life.”

Cyranowill be released in select theaters Jan. 28.

source: people.com