LICENCE TO THRILL
Actor Adam Pearson who has rare genetic condition says he wants to play a Bond villain
Adam Pearson, who is an activist for equality for disabled actors said that playing a villain would be 'fun'
ACTOR and campaigner Adam Pearson, who went on to star alongside Scarlett Johansson said that he would like to be the next Bond villain.
He has presented documentaries and has worked behind the camera - working on the hit TV show The Undateables but now has his sights set on playing a baddie.
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Adam, who has type 1 neurofibromatosis (NF1), spoke on This Morning about his life as an actor.
He had previously slated the film industry for giving villains facial disfigurements - with the worst being for children's films.
The 34-year-old pointed out Scar in the Lion King and Captain Hook in Peter Pan.
He told The Sun: "You are teaching kids early on that evil equates with looking different."
But the actor has made his desires known to be the next James Bond villain.
Today he said: "I think villains are fun roles to play.
"If it's cleverly written and there are other motives other than just sticking a scar on someone because there is no other way to portray evil.
"Because in real life, not all people with scars are evil but they are also not all good.
"I've met people from across the spectrum and I think film should be the same.
I don't want to blanket ban all scars and disfigurements in films - I've got to work!
Adam Pearson
"I don't want to blanket ban all scars and disfigurements in films because that's going to be a very boring creative landscape and it's very restricting and I've got to work!
"And it's quite fun to play as an actor and a thespian. You get to turn up to work and be nasty to people and get paid to do it."
Adam has presented three BBC documentaries - Adam Pearson: Freak Show and The Ugly Face of Disability Hate Crime and was nominated as UK documentary presenter of the year at the 2016 Grierson Awards.
He also starred alongside Hollywood actor Scarlett Johansson in Under the Skin in 2013.
He was promoting his new film, Chained for Life which will be released in June this year.
Talking about the art house film he said: "It looks at the portrayal and treatment of disability and disabled actors throughout the history of cinema.
"The director himself was born with a bilateral cleft palate.
"And as a real film buff he was always fascinated by the whole thing.
"So there are lots of very clever references in it, for example Tom Browning's Freaks from 1932, there's another film called Chained for Life from 1954 that focuses on conjoined twins from freaks and all the myths around films. For example, in the Wizard of Oz, Toto was paid more than all the munchkins combined."
When he was asked about how it was to be a disabled actor in Hollywood, Adam said that it was "very different."
He famously kicked off over Stranger Thing's Charlie Heaton being cast for the role of the Elephant Man in the BBC adaptation and Bryan Cranston who played a man in a wheelchair in The Upside.
He said: "There are two schools of thought here. On one side you have 'only disabled actors can play disabled roles' and over here you've got 'it's just acting mate, grow up' but the truth lies somewhere here in the middle of the bell curve.
It's quite fun to play as an actor and a thespian. You get to turn up to work and be nasty to people and get paid to do it.
Adam
"I don't want disabled actors just to get roles because they are disabled and it's the PC or kind of 'tick boxy' thing to do.
"What I would advocate for is quality of opportunity.
"I think we need to spread on it wider when we are casting and get disabled actors in the room to have the conversation and let their talent do the rest."
Adam, an activist and presenter appeared on after he had found out about the role being snapped up by a non-disabled actor. He said: "I would have liked to have gotten a phone call.
"Bearing in mind that I have the condition, I’m an actor, I’ve been in a BAFTA-nominated film, I did a documentary for the BBC on freak shows around Joseph Merrick.
"He said that whilst the job should ultimately go to the best actor, actors with the condition that is in the film in question should be the first point of call.
Adam's face caused him a “hellish” time at school, and ignorance and prejudice have played a part in his life.
The campaigner, whose story is told in a BBC3 documentary tonight, gets called Quasimodo, Elephant Man and “hideous creature”.
He was diagnosed with the incredibly rare condition after he discovered a scar that would not heal.
Neurofibromatosis causes non-cancerous tumours to grow on nerve tissue.
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The condition affects 1 in 3,000. 50% of cases are hereditary, Adam falls into the remaining 50%, which are caused by spontaneous mutations.
His twin brother Neil also has the disease but hasn't affected him in the same way, he has epilepsy and suffers from memory loss.
Adam has presented the BBC Three documentaries, Adam Pearson: Freak Show and The Ugly Face Of Disability Hate Crime
More recently he has appeared as a reporter in the Channel 4 series, Tricks Of The Restaurant Trade.
Dedicated to his art, he told the story of how he was hit by a black cab in London whilst on his way to an audition and broke his leg.
He said: "I properly broke it - knee pointing one way and foot pointing another.
"Adrenaline kicks in so I called the director and said 'hey, funny story, I broke my leg so I'm going to be about 10 minutes late'"
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