Tommy Jessop

Thomas Jessop, better known as Tommy Jessop, is a British actor. He is the first actor with Down syndrome to star in a primetime BBC drama, the first actor with Down syndrome to tour professional theatres as Hamlet and the first to become a full voting member of BAFTA. Jessop was selected by BAFTA for their prestigious BAFTA Elevate Scheme and the BAFTA Nominated actor for Coming Down the Mountain for BBC1. On July 21, 2021, Jessop became Doctor of Arts (honoris causa) University of Winchester at a ceremony in Winchester Cathedral. He has been leading a 21 hour DanceAThon on 1st March each year to celebrate the lives of people who have Down syndrome on World Down Syndrome Day. Jessop is a frequent guest speaker and has performed and spoken to audiences of several hundred people.

Jessop has filmed cameo roles in several feature films, played lead roles and won BEST ACTOR awards in award-winning short films and enjoyed significant roles on television, radio and stage. Jessop's first major break came when he was cast in Mark Haddon’s award-winning feature-length BBC1 drama Coming Down the Mountain starring opposite Nicholas Hoult. He has gone on to star in award-winning short films, playing a boxer, a murderer, a fisherman, a football fan and winning several personal BEST ACTOR Awards for Fighter and Down & Out and an HONOURABLE MENTION for Innocence. His several television appearances include "Line of Duty" series 5 and 6, "Casualty", "Holby City", "Monroe", "Doctors" and been featured in several documentaries. On stage Tommy became the first professional actor with Down syndrome to play the title role Hamlet. Other Shakespearean and classical roles have included Prospero in The Tempest, Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, Bottom in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Mayor in Gogol’s The Government Inspector, among others.