James O'Neal

James O’Neal compares himself to John Hurt’s character in the 1980 film “The Elephant Man.”

A genetic disease known as neurofibromatosis has left O’Neal’s face horribly disfigured, but several surgeries may be able to reconstruct his facial features.

O’Neal, of Kirkland, Wash., said he knows his deformity is shocking — but he refuses to hide like other people with his disorder.

“I just tell people this is who I am, it’s the way I am,” O’Neal told KOMONews.com. “If you don’t like me, you don’t like me.”

But O’Neal — who works as a cashier at Kingsgate Safeway — is well-liked by his customers.