When Tommy Jessop watched his own performance in 2007 BBC film Coming Down The Mountain, which he starred in alongside Nicholas Hoult, it was the first time he had seen someone with Down syndrome on TV.
Since then the actor, now 38, has had a rather illustrious career, including roles in Holby City, Casualty and Line Of Duty, and was the first professional actor with Down syndrome to tour theatres as Hamlet.
Now, he’s turning his talents to filmmaking. Fed up of mainly seeing roles for actors with Down syndrome that are victims, Jessop came up with an idea for a film that has some with Down syndrome playing a superhero.
Along with his brother, the Emmy-nominated documentary director Will Jessop, he has set out to make superhero movie Roger The Superhero, with the titular character named after his teddy bear.
In BBC One’s Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood, the whole experience from idea to pitching has been documented by Will, with Tommy sharing his perspective from a handheld camera. The brothers head to Los Angeles to seek advice from some of the top names in Hollywood and to share their ideas with producers.
“We should always be speaking up for the rights of people with Down syndrome, so that we are able to make our own choices in life,” says Tommy of the reasoning behind the documentary and the movie plans.
“I have watched countless many other superhero films in the past and I think it’s about time someone with Down syndrome should play a superhero,” he adds.
“Making change to the world.”
This is not the first time Will, 40, and Tommy have collaborated on a TV programme – together, they made the Grierson-nominated Tommy’s Story in 2007 and the Emmy-nominated Growing Up Down’s in 2014.
“I just felt my career needed a bit of a boost, so I’ve been riding on Tommy’s coattails!” jokes Will of the decision to make this documentary with his brother.
“It felt like it was about time because it’s been a while since we did Growing Up Down’s where Tommy was playing Hamlet, and obviously in the meantime, Tommy’s done some very exciting things.
“Obviously on the acting front, but also as a campaigner and being part of this new Down Syndrome Act that was passed through Parliament.
“While all this was happening, I was off making other films, but I was like, why am I not filming Tommy? Why am I letting this all happen (without capturing it)?
“But at the same time, there was this kind of driving question, as we say in the film, which is Line Of Duty felt like another breakthrough. Actually, Tommy’s had a few major breakthroughs in his career, but then they’re followed by kind of fallow periods, and we sort of wonder, you know, is this just the life of an actor? Or is there something else going on here?
“And as Tommy said, it’s about time that – whether it’s Tommy or someone else – it’s about time that we had a superhero with Down syndrome.”
Roger the superhero, the protagonist in Tommy’s film idea, has superpowers based on his own experiences of being someone with Down syndrome. Since Tommy sometimes feels like the world doesn’t understand or value people like him, he wants to use Roger to change that perception.
In the documentary, we see Tommy and Will employ various tactics to get Hollywood to notice Roger, including sending video messages to A-listers to ask them to play Tommy’s baddie – prompting Game of Thrones star Kit Harington, whose cousin has Down syndrome, to read with Tommy for the role – and charming their way into a stunt training day to shoot an action trailer before hopping on a flight across the Atlantic to LA.
The duo also enlist help from the likes of fellow actor with Down syndrome Zack Gottsagen, Scream star Neve Campbell, The White Lotus’s Will Sharpe and Key and Peele producer Joel Zadak. There’s a long road ahead, but Will and Tommy come away confident that they really can do this.
“We’re writing it now,” says Will of Roger The Superhero.
“We got a bit distracted by the documentary, but now we’re writing it. We’ve got people that are excited to receive our draft. It’s really exciting.”
“When we come to casting and open casting calls for sidekicks and other roles, they may be other actors with Down syndrome or other disabilities. I think that would be wonderful,” he adds.
While Roger The Superhero is still in development, Tommy and Will hope that Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood will provide inspiration to people with Down syndrome and other disabilities, showing them that they can achieve their dreams.
“There are some wonderful things happening. Ralph And Katie’s an obvious example, but there are lots of others. As we say in the film, it’s an exciting time,” says Will.
“James Martin was just in a short film that won (best live action short film] at the Oscars. George Webster, Ellie Goldstein, Sarah Gordy, etc. There’s some wonderful talent out there.
“But it’s also true, I think, from the way I look at it, that it’s not yet a matter of course that people with Down syndrome are cast, or people with disability more generally, and my slight worry is that we’re in a kind of temporary uplift, and then it’ll just drop off and we sort of need to consolidate.
“But we’re also still trying to break out of the typecasting – victims, hello? It’s time we had some heroes. So yeah, things are better but my take is that there’s more to be done.”
Tommy’s advice to people wanting to follow in his footsteps is to believe in yourself – and Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood acts as evidence for how far self-belief and determination might take you.
“I think anyone else should be able to start following their own dreams, and my advice is to really believe in yourself,” Tommy says.
“And then you might find yourself doing the very same thing that I’m doing.”
“I hope it will really open their minds to find out what life is really like for people living with Down syndrome,” Tommy adds of the impact he hopes the documentary will have.
“And the main superpower really is having an extra chromosome.”
Tommy Jessop Goes To Hollywood airs on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm on Monday, August 21.
