Neil Pearson

For the Australian rules footballer, see Neil Pearson (footballer).

Neil Pearson
Born	Neil Joshua Pearson 27 April 1959 (1959-04-27) (age 52) London, England, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1982-Present

Neil Joshua Pearson (born April 27, 1959) is a British actor best known for his work on television.

Biography

Pearson grew up in Battersea, London, the son of a panel beater, who left home when he was five, and a legal secretary, and was educated at Woolverstone Hall School, Suffolk, a boarding school, where he first learnt to act, and at the Central School of Speech and Drama.^[1]

After graduating, he made his first television appearance in 1982 and starred alongside Leonard Rossiter in Joe Orton's play Loot at the Lyric Theatre in London in 1984; Rossiter died during a performance while in his dressing room. Pearson then became an acquaintance of Hat Trick Productions and won a part in their historical sitcom Chelmsford 123. He also appeared with Hat Trick executive Jimmy Mulville in That's Love. Pearson narrated Colin Wyatt's animated series The Poddington Peas in 1986.

It was in the roles of associate editor and office lothario, Dave Charnley, in the sitcom Drop the Dead Donkey - another Hat Trick show - and of Detective Superintendent Tony Clark in the thriller, Between The Lines, that he made his greatest impact on the viewing public.

Since then he has appeared in such varied roles as Dr Jameson in Rhodes (1998), Jack Green in the children's serial The Magician's House (1999), Trevor Heslop in Trevor's World of Sport (2003) and John Diamond in A Lump in My Throat (2003). He has also been in several films, including The Secret Rapture (1993), Fever Pitch (1997) and Bridget Jones's Diary (2001). He recently appeared in the 2006 Radio Four series Vent as Ben. He played the choir master Michael Caddick in the BBC's recent drama All the Small Things in 2009.

He is strongly identified with the British left - having made a party election broadcast for the Labour Party for the 1994 European Elections, though later prominently supported Ken Livingstone when Livingstone ran as an independent candidate for Mayor of London in 2000. For many years he has also supported the National Council for One Parent Families, having written about his family background for the organisation, and also raised £32,000 for the charity on a celebrity edition of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?.^[2]

Pearson was a 'judge' on Channel 4's The Play's The Thing, which sought to find a play written by an unknown writer for a run in the West End. The winning play, written by Kate Betts, was called On the Third Day and opened at the New Ambassadors Theatre in London in June 2006. Pearson appeared in a touring revival of Sir Peter Hall's production of Harold Pinter's Old Times in 2006, and in a production of Tom Stoppard's play "Arcadia" at the Duke of York's Theatre, London, in 2009.

Pearson is the author of a book on the Manchester-born publisher Jack Kahane, Obelisk: A History of Jack Kahane and the Obelisk Press.^[3]

He is a keen Texas hold'em poker player, who took part in the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe event in London.^[4][5]

Pearson is also a fan of Tottenham Hotspur and regularly attends home games - even though in the film Fever Pitch he plays a man who takes his son to watch their arch-rivals Arsenal.^{[citation needed]} In 2007 he assisted with fundraising to renovate Bristol Old Vic Theatre.^{[citation needed]}

References

1. ^ Smith, Julia Llewellyn (Wednesday, October 19, 1994). "`I think I'm good at what I do. You don't go far if you don't' - Neil Pearson". Times, The (London, England): p. 15. 
2. ^ "Neil Pearson". National Council for One Parent Families. http://www.oneparentfamilies.org.uk/1/lx3x1olx9x1oix393x1/0/0/080808/0/0//Neil_Pearson.htm. Retrieved 14 November 2009. 
3. ^ Rosenthal, Tom (10 October 2007). "A very British pornographer". Belfast Telegraph. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/books/a-very-british-pornographer-13483315.html. Retrieved 14 November 2009. 
4. ^ Flusfeder, David (15 September 2007). "Social taboos and clumsy personae". Telegraph Blogs. http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/sport/davidflusfeder/3923291/Social_taboos_and_clumsy_personae/. Retrieved 14 November 2009. 
5. ^ "Poker Tournament Results: World Series of Poker Europe: WSOP No Limit Hold'em Championship (Day 3)". Pokerpages.com. 12 September 2007. http://www.pokerpages.com/tournament/result19470.htm. Retrieved 14 November 2009. 

External links

• BBC Radio Gloucestershire interview with Neil 03/07
• Neil Pearson at the Internet Movie Database

Persondata
Name	Pearson, Neil
Alternative names
Short description	Actor
Date of birth	April 27, 1959
Place of birth	London, England
Date of death
Place of death