'Now that I've appeared nude with Scarlett, I want to be a Bond villain': TV's Beauty and the Beast star hopes to beat prejudice after big-screen debut

Adam Pearson, 29, suffers from skin condition Neurofibromatosis

Acting with Johansson in Under The Skin made him consider other roles

Tells of how he was called 'Quasimodo' and 'Scarface' at school



Criticises the way 'baddies' are portrayed with scars or health conditions

Campaigns for Face Equality which aims to change perceptions



For as long as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated by superheroes. I don’t know if it was the good versus evil stories, the fact justice always prevailed or simply the fact that Batman will always be the coolest man on the planet.



I’m 29 now, and still find myself wishing I was him.



His arch enemies, The Joker and Two Face, were part of the appeal. But now I question exactly what these fictional characters mean and say about society.



Adam Pearson acted alongside Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson. Adam suffers from Neurofibromatosis, which has given him facial disfigurement

Film baddies are often scarred, marked or have a condition of some kind. In James Bond stories, the villain is always disabled or disfigured – these things are a reason for why they turned bad.



In Skyfall, the most recent film, Raoul Silva was a former M16 agent turned terrorist – and this alone was enough for me not to want to follow him on Twitter.



But, just to leave the audience in no doubt that this was the bad guy, to be feared, they gave him melted teeth and a sunken left cheek (the result of a botched suicide attempt – nice!).

So I’m torn. I’m a fan, but I wonder, are these portrayals necessary? They are certainly not realistic, so I worry about the message they send out about people who, like me, look different.



My genetic condition, neurofibromatosis, causes excess body tissue and non-cancerous tumours.



'Having had my first taste of movie making, starring opposite the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin (and for much of it, we were both naked) I¿m now intrigued about what else is out there,' Adam writes

Changing Faces is the UK’s leading charity that supports and represents people who have conditions or injuries that affect their appearance.



In 2012 it launched its Face Equality in Film campaign, which aims to readdress the balance and challenge audience perception.



The charity created a short film featuring Leo Gormley, a campaigner who has burns, and Michelle Dockery – of Downton Abbey fame.

We see pretty Michelle at home alone, and Leo outside in a car. Eventually he knocks at the door and she answers. There is a moment of suspense and then they hug, and he hands her a bottle of wine as she says, grinning: ‘You’re early!’



The screen fades to black, with the words: ‘What did you think was going to happen?’ The idea is that people would think he was about to do something horrible to the girl.



I asked James Partridge, chief executive of Changing Faces – who is facially scarred himself – about why fictional portrayals matter.



He told me: ‘The way that people react in the cinema can spill over into everyday life. We have to put up with people laughing at us, recoiling or staring in disbelief.



'It is vital that the film industry takes this seriously and starts to portray disfigurement in a more balanced way.’



Are we being overly sensitive? YouGov recently asked people what they deemed to be ‘villainous characteristics’ in film.



Almost half of the thousands surveyed said ‘scars, marks, and burns’. Bad teeth, baldness and use of a wheelchair were also singled out.



Scarlett Johansson stars in Under the Skin, which will be released in April. Adam played alongside her which he says has inspired him to take on more roles



I’m not saying we need to abolish such portrayals altogether. But if we are going to have film characters with disfigurements, why not get those who actually have them to act? We’d certainly never have a white actor ‘black up’ to play Mandela, for instance.



There have been steps forward recently: Peter Dinklage, one of the lead actors in Game Of Thrones, has a form of dwarfism.



He’s since been cast in films where his height isn’t even really mentioned. An episode of Call The Midwife recently featured an actress with Down’s syndrome, and an actor with cerebral palsy.



Having had my first taste of movie making, starring opposite the gorgeous Scarlett Johansson in Under The Skin (and for much of it, we were both naked) I’m now intrigued about what else is out there. Could someone like me become a film star? I don’t see why not. I’d love to play Bond, but I would love to play a Bond villain too – who wouldn’t?



'If we are going to have film characters with disfigurements, why not get those who actually have them to act? We'd certainly never have a white actor 'black up' to play Mandela, for instance,' Adam writes

It might seem a counterintuitive for me to pander to the lie that looking a bit different means you’re evil, but hear me out. As a teenager, I was called Elephant Man, Scarface and Quasimodo. All three of these film characters with a scar, mark or illness is either a victim or psychotic killer. I could probably act the part, but in real life I am neither of these things. It’s all about context.



Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, features a female character with a Mexico-shaped birthmark, which isn’t dwelt upon but is still significant.



These are the types of representations we need to see. Ones that are simply incidental. Likewise, if I were to play a Bond Villain, I’d want to be evil for the way I behaved and not the way I looked.



It would be an opportunity to raise the profile of people like me who have a condition that affects their appearance.



How would I feel if a child used my character’s name as a term of abuse? Well, I’ve been there, and hated it, but whether they’re saying ‘gay’ or ‘ginger’ or ‘Cyclops’, some children will always be bullies.



What I hope I can do is help to create a society where grown-ups don’t hold these immature, naive prejudices.

