Some families pass down jewellery or recipes - mine passes down the performer's spark. My great-great-grandfather, Patrick James Duffy, founded Duffy's Circus in Ireland in 1775. My grandparents defied gravity as trapeze artists, bareback riders, and jugglers, performing at the London Palladium. Today, my uncles are talented performers and musicians, and their kids? One is a musician, the other breathes fire and performs in a French circus. Sitting at a desk never worked for us.
Given some of my family's recent neurodiversity diagnoses, I started wondering could ADHD be another thread tying us together? Not all of us have ADHD - or at least, we don't know if we do - but many of us share traits that align with the condition, like boundless energy, creativity, and an inability to sit still for more than 10 minutes. And while it’s certainly not a family diagnosis, it’s interesting to consider how these tendencies might have shaped our lives.
In my therapy practice, I've noticed this trend as well, as the performers and creatives I work with often share these traits.
ADHD & Performing: A Perfect Match?
Boundless Energy & Expressiveness: Movement fuels us. Whether juggling, riding horses or belting out songs, we thrive when in motion.
Hyperfocus on Passion: ADHD makes focusing hard - unless it’s on stage. Many describe a "flow state" where distractions disappear.
Love for Novelty & Risk-Taking: The ADHD brain craves excitement. Performing offers adrenaline, audience energy, and the thrill of risk.
Thinking Outside the Box: Improvising on stage, innovating routines. ADHD brains embrace creativity, pushing boundaries to craft unforgettable experiences.
Famous Entertainers with ADHD
Jim Carrey, Justin Timberlake, Emma Watson, and Ant McPartlin [of Ant and Dec fame] have all spoken about how ADHD fuels their success.
McPartlin said: "In my job, having what they call ''popcorn thinking'' is good because it means you can jump from one thing to another. Professionally it's brilliant. Personally I'm all over the place."
For some of my family, performance isn’t just a career, it’s a way of life. ADHD has challenges, but in the right environment, it helps us thrive.
If you feel the need to juggle while making a sandwich, maybe it’s time to embrace your neurodivergent gifts. After all, the best performances break the mould - and sometimes set it on fire (safely, of course).