Adam Pearson (actor)

Adam Pearson (born 6 January 1985) is a British actor, presenter and campaigner. He appeared in the 2013 film Under the Skin.[1] He has neurofibromatosis and has been involved in outreach programmes to prevent bullying associated with deformities.[2][3]

Adam Pearson
Photograph of Adam Pearson
Adam Pearson in 2016
Born
Adam Pearson

(1985-01-06) 6 January 1985
London, England
NationalityEnglish
Alma materBrighton University
Occupation(s)Actor, television presenter, advocate

Early life
Adam Pearson (right) and his twin brother Neil (left) from the Horizon episode My Amazing Twin.

Adam Pearson was born on 6 January 1985, along with his identical twin brother, Neil. After he hit his head at the age of five, the resultant bump persisted instead of healing. He was diagnosed with neurofibromatosis type I, which causes non-cancerous tumours to grow on nerve tissue. Both Neil and his brother Adam have the condition, which manifests very differently between them.

Pearson has been a victim of bullying throughout his life.[4]

Career

Pearson graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in business management. He worked various jobs in television production for the BBC and Channel 4 including the shows The Undateables and Beauty and the Beast.[5]

In 2013, he was cast alongside Scarlett Johansson in Jonathan Glazer's film Under the Skin. He said that he hoped the role would challenge disfigurement stigma.[6] He worked as a researcher for the BBC and Channel 4 before becoming a strand presenter on the first series of Beauty and the Beast: the Ugly Face of Prejudice on Channel 4. He was also one of the development team of Beauty and the Beast and consulted on the Dutch version of the series.

Pearson has worked on all five series of The Undateables for Channel 4 as the casting researcher. He has presented the BBC Three documentaries, Adam Pearson: Freak Show and The Ugly Face of Disability Hate Crime, and appeared as a reporter in the Channel 4 series, Tricks of the Restaurant Trade.[7]

Pearson was nominated as UK Documentary Presenter of the Year at the 2016 Grierson Awards.[8]

Adam Pearson is a regular caller and occasional guest host[9] to The Bedtime Babble On, a radio programme that airs on Spark Sunderland, weeknights from 10pm.[10][11][12]

In August 2022, Pearson appeared on Celebrity Masterchef, becoming the first contestant to be eliminated.[13]

Personal life

Pearson is a Christian. In September 2020 he spoke to Sally Philips, about reconciling his faith with his disability, in an episode of Sunday Morning Live, remarking "a life without hardship is a life without faith; how can you practice your faith if you aren't walking through the fire?"[14]

Filmography
YearTitleRoleNotes
2013 Under the Skin The med Man
2015 Oddity[15] Andrew Galveston Short film. Best Film Winner 2015 at Cheltenham Film Society
2015 Rodentia Hermes Short film
2015–2018 Tricks of the Restaurant Trade Himself Television series
2016 Horizon Himself "My Amazing Twin" TV episode broadcast on BBC 2, 26 August 2016
2017 DRIB Himself
2019 Chained for Life Rosenthal
2019 Eugenics: Science's Greatest Scandal Himself BBC Four Television series
TBA A Different Man Post-production

References
  1. Emilia Papadopoulos (8 September 2014), BBC London: Adam Pearson stars with Scarlett Johansson, retrieved 20 May 2016
  2. Mike McCahill (16 March 2014). "Under the Skin: Loving the alien". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  3. "Changing Faces". changingfaces.org.uk. Archived from the original on 16 February 2016. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  4. Greenwood, Carl (23 July 2015). "Adam Pearson reveals the cruel treatment he faces at hands of bullies". Daily Mirror. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  5. Amie Mulderrig (15 October 2014). "Actor Adam Pearson on disfigurement, working with Jonathan Glazer and nude scenes with Scarlett Johansson". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  6. Day, Elizabeth (12 April 2014). "How Scarlett Johansson helped me challenge disfigurement stigma". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 September 2015.
  7. "Speakers | Business Disability Forum". Archived from the original on 3 October 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  8. "The Grierson Trust - Nominations". Archived from the original on 8 November 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2017.
  9. @sparksunderland (23 August 2020). "@HaydenBeckett is back in Yorkshire visiting some family this week, so @KaiJValentine has brought in reinforcements! Actor & Broadcaster @Adam_Pearson will be co-hosting & answering your calls on Tuesday nights show. Who fancies a chat? 🧡📻" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 August 2020 – via Twitter.
  10. @sparksunderland (26 March 2020). "Coming up: Actor, Presenter & Disability Campaigner @Adam_Pearson joins @KaiJValentine on the phone to discuss the #COVID19Bill and how it is going to affect social care for people living with disabilities in the U.K. #ThursdayBreakfast 107FM 📻 sparksunderland.com 💻" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  11. @sparksunderland (10 April 2020). "LISTENER APOLOGISES Actor & Presenter @Adam_Pearson calls into #FridayBreakfast's dedicated apology booth. Adam explains to @KaiJValentine he wants to say sorry to his brother Neil. 107FM 📻sparksunderland.com 💻" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  12. @sparksunderland (10 July 2020). "Actor & disability campaigner @Adam_Pearson just called into #BedtimeBabble to discuss his latest issues with disability casting within the film industry. You can find more details here, and listen to his chat with @KaiJValentine & @HaydenBeckett on demand again tomorrow" (Tweet). Retrieved 14 July 2020 – via Twitter.
  13. Brazier, Tori (31 August 2022). "Celebrity MasterChef's Adam Pearson apologises to viewers after being eliminated first: 'I let us down'". Metro. Retrieved 9 September 2022.
  14. "Adam Pearson talks Faith, Acting and Disability with Sally Philips". YouTube. 6 September 2020. Retrieved 22 January 2023.
  15. "Oddity". Worcestershire Film Festival. 7 November 2015. Archived from the original on 25 November 2015. Retrieved 11 November 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
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