Early career and Skins (1998–2008) Pearson joined a theatre group, located in Bristol, becoming one of its founding members at three years of age. Pearson was a student at
Colston's Girls' School in 2006 when she was cast in the television teenage-drama
Skins. The programme was a success and ran for seven series, only two of which Pearson appeared in. Her performance was well received; the character was popular, and Pearson garnered widespread attention. She stated that the amusing nature of simply playing someone who's very different from her in person was what drew her to playing Richardson in
Skins. After the release of the first season, Pearson stated that being recognised was rather strange, though remarked that, "I try to be nice to everyone and hope they keep watching the show."
Skins won the
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Philip Audience Award, and Pearson was nominated for the
Golden Nymph Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series.
Tormented and Bristol Old Vic debut (2009–2012) Pearson briefly appeared as Karen Shevlin an episode of the British
medical drama series
Casualty. She later made her feature film debut as sadistic schoolgirl Natasha Cummings, in
Jon Wright's
comedy horror slasher film
Tormented (2009). She reunited with her
Skins co-star
Larissa Wilson, and starred opposite
Alex Pettyfer,
Tuppence Middleton and
Georgia King. In an interview with
The Evening Standards Andy Barker, she stated, "I don't want to pigeon-hole myself this early on. I enjoy every genre." Later in 2009, Pearson returned to theatre starring in
Catherine Johnson's
Suspension (2009) at the
Bristol Old Vic.
Michael Billington wrote, in his review for
The Guardian, "You sense a bond of buried affection between James Lailey's guilt-ridden Gerry and [Pearson] as the bridling bride-to-be. In fact, all the performances from director Heather Williams's largely Bristol-based cast are good."
Metro described it as "a fantastic success – for Johnson, the cast and crew, for Bristol Old Vic and for Bristol, the star of the show."
Paul Callan of
The Daily Express wrote: "Down in the hotel Jemma panics with her pre-wedding nerves and the (very pretty) [Pearson] gives us all too recognisable Big Day nerves. She has a fine sense of comic timing and is a perfect foil for the overpowering Anita, her Sherman Tank of a mother." Additionally, in the autumn, she portrayed kidnapped teenager called Callie in Rachel Sternberg and Jemma Wayne's
Negative Space (2009).
The Evening Standard spoke highly of Pearson's performance, in which they wrote: "The star, emphatically, is [Pearson], gamine and effulgent as Callie. Pearson is 20, but proves unsettlingly convincing as a girl not much more than half her age." In 2011, Pearson returned to
Casualty to star as Grace Fitch, whilst starring in David Allain's
short film Will You Marry Me? (2011). In 2012, Pearson co-starred in Jen Moss'
dark comedy-drama short film ''My Brother's Keeper (Or How Not To Survive The Apocalypse)'', playing the role of Jess, who is looking after her well-meaning but dim-witted brother during a
zombie apocalypse. Moss would later be awarded the Best Writer and Director Awards at the
Viscera Film Festival. Of Pearson's performance as Jess,
Bloody Disgusting remarked that the dynamic between Alex Esmail and Pearson is both "touching and funny". She also appeared in television programmes
Casualty, and
Comedy Feeds, before appearing in a minor role in the
Giles Foster's television film ''
(2014). Pearson also appeared as Gen in Circle of Truth'', a short film shot by David Allain which explored some of the challenges that people with
multiple sclerosis face when deciding whether or not to disclose their diagnosis to their colleagues. The film's inception came about when
Shift.ms, a charity and social network for people with Multiple Sclerosis, contacted producer Jess Gormley. Alongside Pearson,
Circle of Truth featured
Ashley Thomas,
Nathan McMullen,
Lauren Socha,
Simon Day,
Justin Edwards, and
Nicholas Burns. In her second feature-film, Pearson portrayed Beth Prince, a young woman in search of her happy ever after, in Jamie Patterson's romantic comedy
Home for Christmas (2014). The film was based on
Cally Taylor's novel of the same name, and co-starred
Lucy Griffiths,
Karl Davies,
Derren Nesbitt, and
Shirley Jaffe. Later that year, Pearson reunited with David Allain to reprise her role of Gen in short film
Working It Out, in which her character interviews other people with multiple sclerosis about their experiences of employment. The soundtrack was provided by
The Maccabees, and Pearson co-stars alongside Gabriel Bisset-Smith and
Preeya Kalidas. In the first half of 2015, Pearson played Lexi in Neil Jones's critically panned
action film Age of Kill (2015). In the same year, Pearson starred in Nick Gillespie's
psychological horror film Tank 432 (2015). Although the film was critically panned, praise was given to its cast. Emilie Black of
Cinema Crazed praised Pearson's Annabella, whilst writing "it was nice to see a female character not in need of saving, who is just one of the guys, in a film involving a military-style team and tough guys." Frank Scheck of
The Hollywood Reporter acknowledged that "Several talented performers are wasted in the morass." Ben Robins of
The National Student wrote: "Even the cast, a who’s who of largely forgotten-about (but still entirely reliable) British talent, from
Rupert Evans to
Michael Smiley and Skins’ [Pearson], seemed like a stab in the right direction." Chuck Wilson wrote, in his review for
The Village Voice, "Trapping his cast in a tight space is daring, but Gillespie hasn't given his six good actors, among them Evans and
Gordon Kennedy, much to say beyond shouted variations on the word “fuck.”" In 2015, Pearson returned to theatre to perform on stage in
Threesome at the
Brighton Fringe, and then the
Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The production received favourable reviews, with particularly strong praise for Pearson and her co-stars; "Pearson, meanwhile, carries the part of the confident, daring and over-sexed third party to the limits – but successfully so. The dialogue is fast and furious, and with pacy interactions, the three actors together create a thoroughly watchable story".
Transition to horror and independent films (2016–present) In 2016, Pearson starred in
Fractured, about a couple whose peaceful getaway weekend goes awry, where she reunited with
Home for Christmass
Karl Davies and director Jamie Patterson. The cast of
Fractured also included
Louisa Lytton,
Jordan Metcalfe and
Calvin Dean. British horror genre
website Love Horror wrote: "Pearson and Davies are well suited to their characters, convincingly performing the loving couple that are being pursued." For her work in
Fractured, Pearson received the Best Actress Award from the
British Horror Film Festival. She also starred as Gemma in Mdhamiri Á Nkemi's short film
Cuttings (2016), in which her character returns to her family home after a recent death to discover buried family truths in an uncovered archive of home video. Pearson reunited with Patterson once again for
Caught (2018), in which she plays Mrs. Blair, alongside Cian Barry's Mr. Blair, respectively. The story follows a journalist couple who invite a man and woman, Mr & Mrs Blair, into their idyllic village home. The film also stars
Mickey Sumner, Ruben Crow, Regan Elizabeth Brown, Dave Mounfield and Aaron Davis. Pearson received critical acclaim by critics for her performance as Mrs. Blair. William of
All Horror spoke most highly of Pearson's performance as Mrs. Blair, with him writing, "[Pearson] deserves some kind of award for her nearly wordless, but not silent performance. She lets the audience know with her eyes and grunts that this skin-suit is barely containing some other life-form that is dying to tear you apart, but cannot until she gets these irritating photographs from the couple." Frank Scheck of
The Hollywood Reporter also spoke highly of such a thing, in which he stated: "[...]
Caught delivers plenty of terrifying moments, thanks to the highly committed performances by the central quartet [...]". Noel Murray of the
Los Angeles Times noted praise of the performances, remarking that "
Caught hits the usual beats, but with an unusually strong cast and original characters." Jeannette Catsoulis praised the cast, in her review for
The New York Times, by stating "As played by [Barry] and [Pearson] [...], the interlopers are a weird, disgusting delight, easily dominating the movie and their ineffectual hosts." Bobby LePire of
Film Threat Bobby LePire wrote, "What cannot be overlooked is the animalistic qualities of Mrs. Blair.", in which he later concludes that "[...] the acting serves the unnerving atmosphere perfectly [...]".
Brad Miska of
Bloody Disgusting acclaimed the performances of Barry and Pearson, with Miska stating, "There's plenty of tension, with the performances by [Barry] and [Pearson] carrying the entire film on their backs, not to mention an escalation of terror [...]". Mike Sprague of
JoBlo.com praised Pearson's characterisation, in which he wrote, "[Pearson's] arc throughout the movie is my favorite thing about the piece, and I'm sure it will be yours as well."
Film at Lincoln Center described both Barry and Pearson's Mr and Mrs. Blair as being "played perfectly". Pearson's next appeared in Corrie Greenop's horror thriller
Dark Beacon (2017). She played Amy Wilcock, who loves the married Beth Gadbsy with a fierce and tragic passion. The resulting performance was positively received; Sol Harris of
Starburst concluded, "Pearson and Lynne Anne Rodgers do an admirable job working with the material that they’re given and attempting to carry the vast majority of the film on their own - not to mention child actor, Kendra Mei [...]". Jon Dickinson of
Scream wrote that, "In a post-
Skins appearance, April Pearson is great in the lead role as Amy. She is the voice of reason when things start to get spooky." April McIntyre of
HeyUGuys praised Pearson by stating, "[Pearson] has emerged from a post-
Skins hibernation with a strong and nuanced performance as Amy [...] Matched perfectly with Beth's spiralling psychosis, together they complement each other with an effective balance of wanting, sheer terror and anxiety." For her work in
Dark Beacon, Pearson received the award for Best Actress from American Horror Film Festival and the Upstate NY Horror Film Festival. The following year, it was announced that Pearson would portray Isla Crane in
Edgar Wallace's
The Case of the Frightened Lady. Vikki Stephenson of
Young Perspective wrote, "[Pearson] proved adept as a terrified Isla (the secretary of the house) [...] These performances result in an ultimately enjoyable and engaging show." Alison Brinkworth, writing for
Behind The Arras, described her as adding "youthful vibrancy", while Rebecca Lipkin described, in her review for
The Arbuturian, Pearson as "charismatic". Albeit praise for Pearson's performance, critics highlighted the underwritten characterisation of Pearson's Isla Crane. She reunited with
Skins co-creator Bryan Elsley for the third time, in which she briefly appeared as Polly in
Kiss Me First. Pearson also starred as Lily in Patterson's critically acclaimed
comedy-drama Tucked (2018), the estranged daughter of
Derren Nesbitt's Jackie. In 2018, Pearson co-wrote and starred in Patterson's
independent comedy-drama film
Tracked, in which a young couple try to save their failing relationship by interrailing around Europe together. The film premiered at the
Raindance Film Festival, wherein Pearson and co-star Chris Willoughby's performances were praised, as well as Edouard Fousset's cinematography. In 2020, she also appeared as Katy in
supernatural rom-com short film
One Year Later, with whom she co-starred alongside starring
Simon Weir, Mark Wood, and Rhys-Teare Williams. She was also amongst the first to sign up for
George Webster's British
science fiction comedy Star Dogs, wherein she played Cass Rio. Pearson also appeared as Abi in
Matthew Leutwyler and Anton Laines'
Disconnected, which was a weekly, experimental drama series shot by the actors and produced remotely, in the
United States,
India,
United Kingdom, and
Rwanda, while under countrywide quarantine orders due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2021, she appeared in an episode of the BBC soap opera
Doctors as
Chloe Shapley. Pearson stars as Eva in Adam Oldroyd's
black comedy directorial debut
Sideshow, alongside
Anthony Stewart Head,
Les Dennis, and
Nathan Clarke. Additionally, she reunited with director Jamie Patterson in the
romantic crime film ''God's Petting You
, and in the psychological thriller The Kindred''. ==Personal life==