SUPER ted!

Actor TOMMY JESSOP on his quest to make a pioneering action movie, helped by his brother WILL and a teddy bear...

- CAREN CLARK

TOMMY JESSOP GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
MONDAY, 9PM, BBC1 FACTUAL

Tommy Jessop is a man on a mission. After an acclaimed turn in BBC thriller Line of Duty as troubled Terry Boyle, the actor and disability campaigner, who lives with Down’s syndrome, has now set his sights on playing a superhero in a blockbuster movie.

‘I’ve watched countless superhero films and it’s time to make my own. Why not have a superhero who has Down’s syndrome?’ asks the star, as TV Times catches up with him and his filmmaker brother, Will Jessop, for an exclusive video chat about BBC1’s Tommy Jessop Goes to Hollywood.

The one-off documentary, shot by the siblings themselves, follows the pair as they try to create their own action film, Roger the Superhero, named after Tommy’s teddy bear and with Tommy as lead.

Along the way, they take advice from writers and actors, including Giri/ Haji’s Will Sharpe and Game of Thrones’ Kit Harington, and film a trailer, before pitching their movie to a top producer in LA.

Here, Tommy and Will tell us about trying to turn their ambitions into reality…

What was the thinking behind the documentary and the movie itself?

TOMMY The movie’s main message is that lives with Down’s syndrome really are worth living.

WILL The documentary is funny and joyous but there are serious points we want to make. Everyone needs heroes that look like them.

Roger has a number of superpowers, doesn’t he?