Man Who Chopped Off And Stitched Onto His Hand In Place Of Fingers.

AN actor who was born with a rare birth defect has had his toes chopped off and stitched onto his hand in place of fingers. 

Richard Stott, 28, now says that his disability has HELPED his acting career – rather than hindered it.

He was born with a rare birth defect called Poland Syndrome that causes webbing to the fingers and deformity. 

So far Richard has undergone around 15 operations. 

His biggest op came when he was 11 and involved removing the second toe on each of his feet - before having them grafted onto his left hand. 

However, rather than becoming withdrawn because of his condition, Richard has embraced it and is now using it to his advantage in order to get niche acting roles. 

 

He said: “I was having a hard time using my hand when I was younger, but I didn't notice it. 

”My feet look exactly the same. People don’t notice at all - there’s hardly any scarring. It doesn't affect me.”

Astonishingly, Richard says that while he was at school his disability caused no problems - even during PE lessons. 

He said: "I was never sporty, but it certainly didn't get in the way. In football it doesn't interfere, even as goalkeeper, you can still stick your hand out.”

After finishing school, where he excelled in drama, Richard moved to Manchester to study at the Arden School of Theatre. 

He said: "I went into more behind-the-scenes, producing roles. I had some bad experiences in early auditions. 

"My first ever audition was for Commercial Castings. The first thing they get you to do is hold up your hands. 

"I thought, 'oh my god, I didn't know they were going to do this'. 

"I held up my hands to the camera and the casting director, quite rightly, said, 'what's wrong with that hand?' 

"How do you explain that? He didn't dismiss me but I knew straight away I hadn't got the role.

"I don't blame the acting industry. The public have got a responsibility to be more accepting - they're creating the demand. 

"The producers and casting directors are just supplying that demand." 

Despite having experienced set-backs early-on, Richard now thinks having Poland Syndrome is an advantage. 

He added: "Weirdly, it helps. The last job I got, I got because I had this. It was a version of Beauty and the Beast.

"The director wanted one of the characters to have some kind of physical disfigurement. 

"That got me through the door and I got the part. Beauty started off as a really unlikeable, spoilt-brat character. 

"There was a scene where she dismissed me because I wasn't perfect."

Richard says that having Poland syndrome "narrows down the casting bracket", but since his toe swap op aged 11, he is able to hold things properly in his left hand. 

He added: "As a white guy in his 20s - which is a huge casting bracket - I've also got this little niche, which is very, very helpful.”

He currently lives in Cambridge, with his long-term girlfriend Loriana, 29, who works as a stem-cell scientist at Cambridge University. 

Richard said: "I've been with her for nearly five years. She was completely fine with my hand. I just didn't mention it. 

"If you were meeting me face-to-face, you wouldn't notice it straight away, so it's a hard thing to bring up in conversation. 

"When you're a kid, it's easy. Kids notice things more and say what's on their minds. 

 

"When you get older, it becomes more of an issue. Now, when people don't mention it, it becomes the elephant in the room. 

"I can't put my finger on the moment we first talked about it - I'm assuming that after a couple of days she realised, but didn't really care." 

At present, Richard works for a cooperative acting agency called Stage Centre Management in north London - but he is ambitious for more stage time. 

He said: "I really love the stage. I went to the National Theatre when I was 18 and was completely captivated. 

"Since then, I've always held the National Theatre, the RSC and the Globe as my goals. 

"If I can get one of them, even if it's just me saying a couple of lines I'd be really happy. 

"I've got it in the back of my mind that I'm going to play Richard III one day - because it's kind of ridiculous that I'm called Richard, I'm from York and I've got a left hand like Richard III. 

"I need a couple more years, but that would be my dream."