David Proud is an English actor, writer and director who has appeared in Desperados, No Offence and most recently Marcella and Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan.
David made history in 2009 after he became the first regular disabled actor to appear in the BBC prime time continuing drama, EastEnders, starring as Adam Best.
In 2011, David made his writing debut with the short film Wheels of Fortune. While filming, the production team trained 10 physically disabled children in the art of film making. More recently he has worked as a writer on the BBC continuing drama Doctors and ITV’s Coronation Street.
David wrote The Art of Disability in 2016, a book looking at disability representation in the media. David later began a two-year Engagement Fellowship with the Wellcome Trust in 2018, in which he will write a new book and direct a feature documentary looking at inclusion of disabled people in society and scientific medical advances.
David was listed in the Shaw Trust Power 100 List as one of the top 100 most influential disabled people of 2015, 2018 and 2019. David currently works as a disability consultant for the British Film Institute, founding and sitting on their disability advisory board. He also sits on the OFCOM diversity board and provides project-based consultancy for Company Pictures, Scott Free UK and BBC.
