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.
Early life
Adam Pearson was born in Croydon, London, on 6 January 1985, along with his identical twin brother, Neil.[4] 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.[5]
Career
Presenting
The trailer for the Horizon episode "My Amazing Twin", in which Adam starred with his twin brother Neil
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.[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 in 2015 on Channel 4. Pearson stated that he had faced violent confrontation because of his appearance.[7] 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.[8] He co-hosted the BBC Four documentary Eugenics: Science's Greatest Scandal with Angela Saini in 2019.[9]
Pearson is a regular caller and occasional guest host[10] to The Bedtime Babble On, a radio programme that airs on Spark Sunderland, weeknights from 10pm.[11][12][13]
Pearson was nominated as UK Documentary Presenter of the Year at the 2016 Grierson Awards.[14]
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.[16] It was in this film that Pearson discovered his enjoyment of acting.[17]
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.[21][22]
Personal life
Pearson lives in the Addiscombe area of South London.[4] 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?"[23]
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