{{Short description|British actor (born 1985)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2022}} {{Infobox actor | name = Tommy Jessop | image = Tommy Jessop Keynote Speech.jpg | caption = Jessop giving a keynote speech in 2025 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1985|01|19|df=y}} | occupation = Actor, author, activist | notable_works = ''{{cslist |Line of Duty|Masters of the Air|Coming Down the Mountain|Hamlet}}'' | years_active = 2007–present | website = {{URL|tommy-jessop.com}} }} '''Thomas Jessop''' (born 19 January 1985) is a British actor, author and activist. He is the first actor with Down syndrome to star in a primetime BBC drama,<ref name="Broadcast Now">{{cite web|url=http://www.broadcastnow.co.uk/coming-down-the-mountain/124657.article|title=Coming Down the Mountain|website=broadcastnow.co.uk}}</ref> the first professional actor with Down syndrome to tour theatres as Hamlet, and the first to become a full voting member of BAFTA. In 2021, he was awarded an Honorary Doctor of the Arts by the University of Winchester. He is also an ambassador for Mencap and a patron of the National Down syndrome Policy Group.
He has commented that disabled actors need opportunities to appear other than as victims or objects of pity.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Morris|first=Andy|date=9 August 2021|title='People have outdated views about disabled performers': Line of Duty's Tommy Jessop on acting with Down's syndrome|url=http://www.theguardian.com/create-change/2021/aug/09/people-have-outdated-views-about-disabled-performers-line-of-dutys-tommy-jessop-on-acting-with-downs-syndrome|access-date=15 August 2021|website=the Guardian|language=en}}</ref>
==Career== ===Film=== Jessop has a portfolio of short films to his name and cameo appearances in feature films including ''Day of the Flowers''. His lead role in ''Fighter'' won him Best Actor at the Oska Bright Film Festival and Best Film at Film London, and was named Short of the Week at the BFI London Film Festival. He appeared in ''Down & Out'' and ''Innocence'', the latter of which won the Don Quixote Award at Kraków Film Festival. Jessop also played a fisherman in ''Little Shit'' and a football fan in ''Delilah''.
===Television=== Jessop's first breakthrough came in 2007 when he starred opposite Nicholas Hoult in the feature-length BBC drama ''Coming Down the Mountain''.<ref name="Broadcast Now"/> The writer Mark Haddon said Jessop was the inspiration behind the project.<ref name="Independent Feature">{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/mark-haddon-first-he-tackled-aspergers-now-the-writer-is-putting-downs-syndrome-in-the-spotlight-with-a-new-drama-463565.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=James | last=Rampton | title=Mark Haddon: First he tackled Asperger's, now the writer is putting Down's syndrome in the spotlight with a new drama | date=30 August 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author= Osborn, Michael |title= Haddon Debut Captures Teen Crisis |url= https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6925544.stm |publisher= BBC |date= 31 August 2007 |access-date=10 October 2009}}</ref> Jessop's performance was widely praised,<ref name="Guardian review">{{cite news| url=https://www.theguardian.com/culture/tvandradioblog/2007/sep/03/lastnightstvcomingdownthe | location=London | work=The Guardian | first=Sam | last=Wollaston | title=Last night's TV: Coming Down the Mountain | date=3 September 2007}}</ref><ref name="Herald Scotland">{{cite web|url=http://www.heraldscotland.com/enduring-such-a-mountain-of-anguish-1.864402|title=Enduring such a mountain of anguish|website=HeraldScotland|date=3 September 2007 }}</ref> and the film was nominated for a Television BAFTA for "Best Single Drama",<ref name="bestsingleBAFTA">{{cite news |title= BAFTAs - 2008 nominations |url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2008/mar/18/television3 |newspaper= The Guardian |date= 18 March 2008 |accessdate=10 October 2009 | location=London}}</ref> before winning the RADAR People of the Year Human Rights Media Award 2008.<ref name="Radar Press release">{{cite web|url=http://www.medianewsline.com/news/133/ARTICLE/3574/2008-12-02.html|title=BBC programmes win RADAR awards|date=2 December 2008|website=medianewsline.com}}</ref> Jessop made his television debut in ''Holby City'',<ref name="BBC News">{{cite news| url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/hampshire/6959068.stm | work=BBC News | title=Down's syndrome actor's TV debut | date=22 August 2007}}</ref> and has also appeared as guest lead in two episodes of ''Casualty'',<ref name="Casualty">{{cite web|url=http://www.dailyecho.co.uk/news/8318492.Actor_Tommy_to_star_in_Casualty/|title=Actor Tommy to star in Casualty|website=Daily Echo|date=7 August 2010 }}</ref> ''Monroe'' and ''Doctors''. His dream is to appear on ''EastEnders''.<ref name="Eastenders">{{cite web|url=http://www.metro.co.uk/showbiz/63126-newcomer-tommy-eyes-eastenders-role|title=Newcomer Tommy eyes EastEnders role|date=23 August 2007|website=metro.co.uk}}</ref>
In June 2015, he appeared in two "Blue Badge" specials of ''Off Their Rockers'' on ITV.
Jessop starred in BBC's ''Line of Duty'', appearing as Terry Boyle in the fifth series in 2019, the second actor to play the role.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Griffiths|first=Eleanor Bley|date=21 March 2021|title=Who is Terry Boyle? Line of Duty season 6 brings back a familiar character|url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/drama/line-of-duty-terry-boyle/|access-date=22 March 2021|website=Radio Times}}</ref> He reprised his role as a returning character in three dramatic episodes in the sixth series of Line of Duty in 2021.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Singh|first=Anita|date=21 March 2021|title=Line of Duty, season 6 ep 1, review: when it comes to cop shows, Jed Mercurio is the gaffer|work=The Daily Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2021/03/21/line-duty-season-6-ep-1-review-comes-cop-shows-jed-mercurio/amp/|access-date=22 March 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|last=Nugent|first=Annabel|date=22 March 2021|title=Line of Duty series six premiere ratings revealed|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/tv/news/line-of-duty-series-six-ratings-b1820485.html|access-date=22 March 2021|website=The Independent}}</ref>
In 2024 Jessop played Tommy opposite Callum Turner and Austin Butler in the TV series ''Masters of the Air'' produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks for Apple TV+.
===Theatre=== Jessop is a founding member of award-winning integrated company Blue Apple Theatre, and has appeared in all their productions to date. In 2010, he played Bottom in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''.<ref name="Hampshire Chronicle">{{cite web|url=http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/winchester/8206826.Blue_Apple_tackles_the_Bard/|title=Blue Apple tackles the Bard|website=Hampshire Chronicle|date=9 June 2010 }}</ref> In 2011, he was the Mayor in Gogol's ''The Government Inspector''. In May 2012, Jessop made history when he became the first professional actor with Down syndrome to play the title role of ''Hamlet''<ref name="This Is Cornwall">{{cite web |url=http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/s-actor-tackles-Hamlet/story-15991047-detail/story.html |title=Down's actor tackles Hamlet | This is Cornwall |work=This isCornwall |date=3 May 2012 |accessdate=23 February 2013 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130411202311/http://www.thisiscornwall.co.uk/s-actor-tackles-Hamlet/story-15991047-detail/story.html |archivedate=11 April 2013 }}</ref> in Blue Apple's touring production. This led to an invitation from Mark Rylance to take part in his What You Will Pop up Shakespeare and the Globe Theatre Sonnet Walks. In March and April 2013, Tommy played the role of Bobby, a victim of hate crime in ''Living Without Fear'', Blue Apple Theatre's touring production about disability hate crime.<ref name="Entertainment Focus">{{cite web|url=http://www.entertainment-focus.com/theatre-section/theatre-news/living-without-fear-to-tour/|title=Living Without Fear to tour - Entertainment Focus|website=www.entertainment-focus.com|date=2 March 2013}}</ref> Jessop has also performed the roles of Prospero in ''The Tempest'' and Don Pedro in ''Much Ado About Nothing'', Marley's Ghost in ''A Christmas Carol'', and The Creature in ''Frankenstein''.
In 2018, Jessop performed the role of Vladimir in a Culture Device production of Waiting for Godot at Hackney Showroom. The Beckett scholar Dr Hannah Simpson described Jessop as delivering a "laconic and angrily pensive" performance that "by itself merited the standing ovation that the play received."<ref>{{cite book |last= Simpson|first=Hannah |authorlink1=Waiting for Godot: Culture Device and Hackney Showroom, 2018 |title=Samuel Beckett and Disability Performance |version=2022 |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|location=London}}</ref>
===Documentary===
thumb|Tommy (right) with brother Will (left) Jessop frequently collaborates with his brother, the writer and filmmaker Will Jessop.<ref name="Will Jessop Director">{{Cite web|url=https://www.willjessop.com/|title=Home | Will Jessop|website=Mysite}}</ref> In 2007, the brothers made the broadcast documentary ''Tommy's Story'' for The Community Channel. Will filmed Tommy behind the scenes of ''Coming Down the Mountain'' and ''Holby City'', and was shortlisted for Best Newcomer at the Grierson Awards 2008.<ref name="4docs">{{cite web|url=http://www.4docs.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Awards|title=4docs|website=www.4docs.org.uk|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209175001/http://www.4docs.org.uk/wiki/index.php/Awards|archivedate=9 February 2012}}</ref> In February 2014, Jessop was one of the stars of ''Growing Up Down's'', a documentary about Blue Apple Theatre's touring production of ''Hamlet'' that Will produced and directed for BBC Three. The film was described as "BBC Three at its very best"<ref name="DigitalSpy">{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/news/a548608/growing-up-downs-preview-powerful-documentary-is-brilliant-tv.html|title=Growing Up Down's: Why you should watch|date=3 February 2014|website=digitalspy.co.uk}}</ref> and in November 2014 won the Creative Diversity Network Award for Most Groundbreaking Programme.<ref name="CreativeDiversityNetwork">{{cite web |url=http://creativediversitynetwork.com/news/winners-of-the-2014-cdn-awards-announced/ |title=Creative Diversity Network Winners of the 2014 CDN Awards announced |website=creativediversitynetwork.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141129045053/http://creativediversitynetwork.com/news/winners-of-the-2014-cdn-awards-announced/ |archive-date=29 November 2014}}</ref>
In 2023, the Jessop brothers made their third documentary together, ''Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood'', in which Jessop sets out to create and pitch his own superhero movie in Hollywood.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001pvly | title=BBC One - Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood }}</ref> The film features appearances from Kit Harington, Will Sharpe and Neve Campbell and was broadcast on BBC One on 21 August 2023 to popular and critical acclaim, including a five star review from Carol Midgley in The Times.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/tommy-jessop-goes-to-hollywood-review-a-touching-insight-into-living-with-down-s-9vs2vb7hz | title=Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood review — a life-affirming bid to conquer La-La Land | date=11 September 2023 | last1=Midgley | first1=Carol }}</ref>
In 2022, Jessop investigated why people with a learning disability are more than twice as likely to die from avoidable causes than the rest of the population as part of a BBC Panorama entitled ''Will the NHS Care for Me?''<ref>{{Cite web |title=BBC One - Panorama, Will the NHS Care for Me? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001d39x |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=BBC |language=en-GB}}</ref>
===Books=== On 6 July 2023, Headline Publishing Group published Jessop's memoir, titled ''A Life Worth Living: Acting, Activism and Everything Else''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-06-27 |title=Award-winning Hampshire actor releases memoir on life with Down Syndrome |url=https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/23612779.winchesters-tommy-jessop-releases-memoir-life-syndrome/ |access-date=2023-08-10 |website=Hampshire Chronicle |language=en}}</ref>
On 8 May 2025, Ladybird Books published a children's book written by Jessop with illustrations by Carolina Rabei. The title is ''Tommy's Time to Shine''.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-05-05 |title=Tommy Jessop Announces First Childrens Book |url=https://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/25122570.tommy-jessop-announces-release-first-childrens-book/ |access-date=2025-05-08 |website=Hampshire Chronicle |language=en}}</ref>
===Radio=== Jessop has starred in various radio productions for the BBC, including an episode of the series ''Stone'' with Hugo Speer in 2010, and the one-off play ''The Climb'' opposite Warwick Davis in 2011.<ref name="The Climb">{{cite web|url=http://www.hampshirechronicle.co.uk/news/winchester/8460342.Another_starring_role_for_Tommy/|title=Another starring role for Tommy|website=Hampshire Chronicle|date=19 October 2010 }}</ref> On 10 April 2013, Jessop appeared in an episode of ''The Archers'', playing Callum Longfield.<ref name="The Archers">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rr557 Episode], [https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rrd88 cast list for the week] (retrieved on 11 April 2013)</ref>
===Dance=== Jessop is one of the principal dancers for Culture Device Dance Project, an experimental dance company for professional dancers with Down syndrome.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.culturedevicedanceproject.com/en/about|title=Culture Device – ABOUT -|last=Device|first=Culture|website=Culture Device|access-date=30 March 2016|archive-date=11 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411113959/http://www.culturedevicedanceproject.com/en/about|url-status=dead}}</ref> In March 2019, Jessop performed "The Rite Re-envisioned" with Culture Device Dance Project and dancers of The Royal Ballet at the Royal Opera House.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.roh.org.uk/events/zjz4r|title = Live at Lunch (The Rite Re-envisioned: Friday 22 March 2019, 1pm) — Recitals — Royal Opera House}}</ref> Culture Device performed the dance again for the film ''The Rite'', which was nominated for the Fashion Film Awards.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.showstudio.com/projects/fashion-film-awards-collaboration-harrods|title = Fashion Film Awards 2019 in partnership with Harrods| SHOWstudio}}</ref>
===Modelling=== Jessop is one of the models in the ongoing Radical Beauty Project, which seeks to change the way we see people with Down Syndrome.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/17/radical-beauty-stunning-portraits-of-people-with-downs-syndrome|title=Changing focus: People with Down's syndrome in a remarkable art project|website=TheGuardian.com |date=17 February 2019}}</ref>
In 2021, Jessop and other models with Down Syndrome including Ellie Goldstein were photographed by Sophia Spring for the cover of The Guardian's Saturday Magazine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/27/the-stars-with-downs-syndrome-lighting-up-our-screens-people-are-talking-about-us-instead-of-hiding-us-away|title=The Stars with Down Syndrome|website=theguardian.com |date=27 November 2021}}</ref>
In 2023, a portrait of Jessop by the photographer Peter Flude was a National Portrait Award winner.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/portrait-of-britain-photos-diversity-david-attenborough-b2258740.html|title=Portrait Of Britain Photos|website=independent.co.uk |date=13 January 2023}}</ref>
==Honours== In July 2021, Jessop received an honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Winchester for his services to the entertainment industry.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://metro.co.uk/2021/07/20/line-of-duty-tommy-jessop-receives-honorary-university-doctorate-14960494/|title=Line Of Duty's Tommy Jessop receives honorary university doctorate|first=Cydney|last=Yeates|date=20 July 2021}}</ref>
In 2022, Jessop was voted onto the Shaw Trust Disability Power 100 list.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://disabilitypower100.com/individual/dr-tommy-jessop-honorary-doctorate-university-of-winchester/|title=Dr Tommy Jessop}}</ref> Jessop was then congratulated for this achievement in an Early Day Motion in The House of Commons that cited his "important contributions to drama, theatre, and the arts" and "determination to encourage and inspire others living with disability to capitalise on their true potential".<ref>{{Cite web|title=Tommy Jessop and Heidi Carter and the Shaw Trust 2022 Disability Power 100 Shortlist - Early Day Motions - UK Parliament |url=https://edm.parliament.uk/early-day-motion/60194}}</ref>
==Activism== Jessop is an important campaigner for the rights of people with Down syndrome. He was the main spokesperson for the campaign that led to the creation of the Down Syndrome Act 2022.<ref name="Campaign Work">{{cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tv/2023/06/29/tommy-jessop-downs-syndrome-line-of-duty/|title=tommy-jessop-downs-syndrome-line-of-duty|website=Telegraph|date=29 June 2023 }}</ref>
Jessop has spoken out about the Assisted Dying Bill, stating that "there need to be rules to keep us safe, but that has not happened” and insisting that people with Down’s syndrome should not be “collateral damage” from the bill. Jessop's words were quoted directly by Baroness Grey-Thompson during a debate in the House of Lords.<ref name="Assisted Dying House of Lords">{{cite web|url=https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/people-with-learning-difficulties-could-be-collateral-damage-if-assisted-dying-bill-becomes-law/|title=people-with-learning-difficulties-could-be-collateral-damage|website=Disability News Service|date=12 February 2026 }}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{commons category-inline}} * {{IMDb name|2573241}} * {{official website|https://www.tommy-jessop.com/}} * [http://www.growingupdowns.co.uk/ ''Growing Up Down's'' documentary website]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessop, Tommy}} Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:Actors with Down syndrome People Category:English male soap opera actors Category:Male actors from Winchester