Changing Faces urge James Bond franchise to stop facial disfigurements for villians

However, with yet another villain who is facially disfigured attempting to outsmart Mr Bond there are now calls for change in the film and television industry.

Changing Faces are a charity campaigning to end discrimination against people with visible differences such as scars, marks, or facial conditions.

Their new movement Pledge To Be Seen campaigns against the "tired tropes" of James Bond villains being visibly different and are calling on more positive characters in films to be given the same treatment.

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Speaking in an interview on BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, Changing Faces spokesperson Catherine Deakin and actor Adam Pearson, who was born with neurofibromatosis, called for characters with visual disabilities to be given the proper representation.

They described the situation, which sees a third consecutive bond villain having a facial disfigurement, as ‘cinematic shorthand – scarred on the outside, twisted and evil on the inside’.

Mr Pearson said: “This is the third disfigured bond villain in a row now and it gets a little bit eyerolling when the same tropes get used, particularly around disfigurement disabilities.

“We’re just calling for balance, we’ve seen a lot of progress with how woman are portrayed in Bond, but why does this one trope remain in what is an otherwise amazing franchise.”

In the five Bond films Daniel Craig has starred in, he has faced four villains with facial disfigurements.

Adam Pearson was quick to point out that it is not only Bond villains that are given the same treatment but there is a historic trend of movie antagonists having a facial disfigurement.

He gave examples such as Scar from The Lion King, Freddy Krueger, and Captain Hook, which could all impact how children see people with visual disabilities.

Catherine Deakin added: “We’re calling on the film and media industry to really challenge this stereotype. We want to see people with visible differences in all roles, not just the villain.

“We hear a lot from our communities about how they never see anyone that looks like them at all on the telly or films, and when they do, they just see themselves as the villain or the outcast and the message they hear from this is ‘whats wrong with me?’.

"We see visual difference being equated with evil and that’s almost giving permission for the bullying, trolling, and staring which happens far too often.”

A survey by changing faces revealed that 74 per cent of people with visual differences think popular culture is changing to be more inclusive, but people with visible differences are being left behind, and only 20 percent have seen a character with a visible difference cast as the hero in a film or on TV.

Now the Scottish Branch of the charity are backing the campaign, and calling on local business across the country to back the movement.

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Angela Harris, Head of Scotland at Changing Faces, said: “The use of outdated stereotypes belongs in the past, so it’s great to see our ambassadors and campaigners showing that heroes can also have a visible difference.

“We’re calling on organisations, brands and businesses across Scotland to join our Pledge To Be Seen movement.

"Seeing positive and diverse representation across popular culture, from TV and films to job adverts and brand campaigns, can have a powerful impact; helping to tackle discrimination and stigma.”

The Pledge To Be Seen campaign have also released a short film titled 'I am More Than Just Your Villain' showing movie heros with disfugurments starring Adam Pearson.