Sam Berns is a 17 year old kid with progeria. It is a rare genetic disease where symptoms resemble aspects of rapid aging. But like any other 17 year old kid, Sam's got some interests. He's a prolific Lego builder and the subject of HBO's documentary - Life According to Sam. The documentary premieres tonight.

Filmmaker Sean Fine explains the turning point when filming Sam's collection.
That was a breakthrough moment...when we all saw his Lego room. Andrea and I started talking about that as this metaphor in filming him build these Legos because in all of our films, bad things happen to people and we never really show them...Discovering that world of his and exploring it even further was a pretty big turning point I think as well.
Sam is not only an amazing Lego builder, he's also an excellent student, a hardcore sports fan and an "ultra-likeable" kid. His mother has devoted her life and career to studying the disease, and in less than four years, the family has founded the Progeria Research Foundation and raised over $1.25 million.
“I didn’t put myself in front of you to have you feel bad for me,” he says at the beginning of the film. “I put myself in front of you to let you know you don’t need to feel bad for me. I want you to know me. This is my life, and progeria is part of it. It’s not a major part of it, but it is part of it.”
Check out more of it over here.

Watch the trailer below: