Adam Pearson (born 6 January 1985) is a British actor, television presenter and campaigner. He made his acting debut in the 2013 film Under the Skin. He has neurofibromatosis and has been involved in outreach programmes to prevent bullying associated with visible differences.
In 2024, Pearson starred in the film A Different Man. For his performance, he received wide critical acclaim, and was nominated for several awards, including the Independent Spirit Award.
Adam Pearson was born in Croydon, London, 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 Adam and his brother Neil have the condition, which manifests very differently between them.
Pearson graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Business Management. He had various jobs in television production for the BBC and Channel 4 including the shows The Undateables and Beauty and the Beast. 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 in 2015 on Channel 4. Pearson stated that he had faced violent confrontation because of his appearance. 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. He co-hosted the BBC Four documentary ' with Angela Saini in 2019.
Pearson is a regular caller and occasional guest host to The Bedtime Babble On, a radio programme that airs on Spark Sunderland, weeknights from 9pm.
Pearson was nominated as UK Documentary Presenter of the Year at the 2016 Grierson Awards.
In August 2022, Pearson appeared on Celebrity MasterChef, becoming the first contestant to be eliminated. That year, he also appeared in Celebrity Antiques Road Trip. In 2024, he was the Brighton team captain on Christmas University Challenge.
In 2013, Pearson was cast alongside Scarlett Johansson in Jonathan Glazer's film Under the Skin. He said that he hoped the role would challenge disfigurement stigma. It was in this film that Pearson discovered his enjoyment of acting.
In 2019, Pearson starred in the film Chained for Life (directed by Aaron Schimberg). In 2024 Pearson played a leading role in Schimberg's next movie, A Different Man, alongside Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on 21 January 2024. It also screened in Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival on 16 February 2024. Pearson said of the film, "In order to challenge stereotypes, they first need to establish they exist".
In May 2025, Pearson was announced to be starring as Joseph Merrick in an upcoming film adaptation of Bernard Pomerance's play The Elephant Man. Pearson will be the first disabled actor to play this role in a film.
In 2024 Pearson became a patron of Face Equality International, an alliance of Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), charities and support groups which are working at national, regional or international levels to promote the campaign for âÂÂface equalityâÂÂ.
Pearson lives in the Addiscombe area of South London. He is a Christian and in September 2020 spoke to Sally Phillips, 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 practise your faith if you aren't walking through the fire?"
Acting roles
Presenting
Television appearances