I Swear Cast and Director on Bringing Tourette's Activist John Davidson's "Unique" True Story to the Big Screen

I Swear cast and director on bringing Tourette's activist John Davidson's "unique" true story to the big screen

Back in 1989 – when he was just 16 years old – John Davidson was the subject of a programme titled John's Not Mad, which explored the difficulties he'd faced after developing an extreme form of Tourette syndrome.The condition, which included an involuntary compulsion to utter obscene and explicit remarks, had seen his previously normal life turned completely upside down, with many of those around him failing to understand why his behaviour had s…

John Davidson MBE on the film I Swear - about his life based on his 2025 memoir

John Davidson tells Sky News entertainment reporter Bethany Minelle the reality behind the stigma of having Tourette syndrome.

I Swear review – a well-meaning, overly sentimental biog

This lightly comic portrait of Tourette syndrome campaigner John Davidson is driven by an impressive central performance.  In the late 1980s, John Davidson became something of a household name in the UK as the focus of a profile documentary on BBC television. John’s Not Mad offered a window on the life of a Galashiels teen with Tourette syndrome, and it encompassed a pathfinding social push to educate the public on a condition about which little…

I Swear | How a Facebook note kickstarted the movie

How a note on Facebook from writer/director Kirk Jones set the movie of I Swear into motion. More on the story here. The story of John Davidson MBE hits the big screen today, in the shape of the superb movie I Swear. Davidson, a Tourette’s syndrome awareness campaigner, has lived most of his life with the condition, and writer/director Kirk Jones’ film covers some of the challenges he’s faced throughout his lifetime. It’s a funny, tense and movi…