Martin Compston
| Martin Compston | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
8 May 1984 Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland, UK | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Actor, former professional footballer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years active | 2002–present | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Tianna Chanel Flynn (m. 2016) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Martin Compston (born 8 May 1984) is a Scottish actor and former professional footballer. He is known for his lead role as Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the BBC crime drama Line of Duty. His other notable roles include Liam in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, Paul Ferris in The Wee Man, and Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen.[1]
Early life and football career
Compston was born the second of 2 boys, with an elder brother, and brought up in Greenock, Inverclyde, and attended St Columba's High School in neighbouring Gourock.
A promising footballer, he was on the books of Aberdeen as a young teenager,[2] and after leaving school he signed for the local professional team Greenock Morton.[3] Compston made two first team appearances in the 2001–02 season,[4] in which the team were relegated to the Third Division. In both matches he appeared as a substitute and Morton lost 4–0, to Alloa Athletic and Queen of the South.
Personal life
On 19 June 2016 Compston married Tianna Chanel Flynn. Compston is also a passionate supporter of the Glasgow football team Celtic.
Acting career
Having never acted before, Compston successfully auditioned for the lead role in Ken Loach's Sweet Sixteen, which was being filmed locally. The film's success at the Cannes Film Festival gave him instant celebrity status in Scotland. Both he and his co-star William Ruane were nominated for Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards, with Compston winning the category.[5]
His subsequent film career was comparatively low-key, as he wanted to "serve his apprenticeship" with a regular role in the BBC TV drama serial Monarch of the Glen. He then appeared in three films: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (Jury Prize and Best Ensemble Cast at the Sundance Festival) with Robert Downey, Jr.; Red Road (Jury Prize at Cannes), shot in Scotland with Kate Dickie and Tony Curran, for which he was nominated as Best Supporting Actor at the Scottish BAFTAs; and True North with Peter Mullan and Gary Lewis, for which he was nominated as Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards.
Compston starred in the 2010 film Soulboy, alongside Craig Parkinson, playing the role of Joe McCain.[1] He also appeared in the horror film The 4th Reich as Private Newman, and made a cameo appearance in a low-budget web series, "Night is Day".
Compston appeared in The View's music video for "Grace" and "How Long," as he is friends with the band.[6]
In 2012 Compston starred in the lead role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott, a detective on an anti-corruption squad, in the BBC police drama Line of Duty, acting alongside Craig Parkinson once more.
In 2012 Compston also starred in the violent thriller Piggy.[7] Going back to his Scottish roots, he then appeared in the lead role in The Wee Man, directed by Ray Burdis, a film depicting the life of the Glasgow gangster Paul Ferris.[8] It was released in the UK in January 2013.
In April 2013 Compston starred in the ITV mini-series The Ice Cream Girls.[9]
Compston appeared as Roy James in The Great Train Robbery.[10]
In 2014, 2016 and 2017 Compston reprised his lead role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the second, third and fourth series of BBC Two police drama Line of Duty, which moved to BBC One at the start of the fourth series[11][12]
In 2016 he starred in the three-part Scottish television drama series In Plain Sight as a serial murderer, Peter Manuel, who is pursued to his conviction and ultimate execution by the detective William Muncie.[13]
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Sweet Sixteen | Liam | |
| 2003 | Monarch of the Glen | Ewan Brodie | 20 episodes between 2003 and 2005 |
| The Royal | Jeffrey Carpenter | One episode, "Snakes and Ladders" | |
| 2004 | Niceland (Population. 1.000.002) | Jed | |
| Casualty | Matty Howell | One episode, "Lock Down" | |
| 2005 | Tickets | Jamesy | |
| Wild Country | Lee | ||
| 2006 | A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints | Mike O'Shea | |
| Red Road | Stevie | ||
| 2007 | True North | Seán | |
| Night is Day | Head Gangster | One episode, "Sacrifices" | |
| 2008 | Doomsday | Joshua | |
| Red Mist | Sean | Also known as "Freakdog" | |
| 2009 | The Damned United | John O'Hare | |
| The Disappearance of Alice Creed | Danny | ||
| 2010 | Pimp | Zeb | |
| Soulboy | Joe McCain | ||
| 2011 | 7lives | Rory | |
| Hit and Run | Daz | ||
| Ghosted | Paul | ||
| Four | Lover | ||
| How to Stop Being a Loser | Adam | ||
| 2012 | Strippers vs Werewolves | Shaniqua | |
| When the Lights Went Out | Mr Price | ||
| Sister | Mike | ||
| Line of Duty | Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott | Five episodes | |
| Piggy | Joe | ||
| 2013 | The Wee Man | Paul Ferris | |
| Greenshaw's Folly | Alfred Pollock | ||
| The Ice Cream Girls | Mr Halnsley | ||
| Filth | Gorman | ||
| The Great Train Robbery | Roy James | ||
| 2014 | Silent Witness | Jason Ross | |
| Line of Duty | Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott | Six episodes | |
| 2015 | Scottish Mussel | Richie | |
| 2016 | Death in Paradise | Dexter Allen | Episode 5.6 |
| Line of Duty | Detective Inspector Steve Arnott | Six episodes | |
| 2016 | In Plain Sight | Peter Manuel | Three episodes |
| 2017 | Line of Duty | Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott | Six Episodes |
| The Hunter's Prayer | Metzger | ||
| Victoria | Dr. Robert Traill | Series 2, episode 6, "Faith, Hope & Charity" | |
| 2018 | Mary Queen of Scots | Post-production | |
References
- 1 2 Clarke, Cath (26 August 2010). "How Martin Compston Shimmied from Football to Films". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "How Line of Duty star Martin Compston went from Dons starlet to DS Arnott". Evening Express. 1 May 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
- ↑ Pierce, Nev (26 September 2002). "Martin Compston: Sweet Sixteen". BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ "MARTIN COMPSTON". Neil Brown. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
- ↑ "Profile and awards: Sweet Sixteen (2002)". BIFA. Retrieved 13 March 2017.
- ↑ English, Paul (23 March 2016). "Line of Duty Star Martin Compston: Glass Ceiling for Actors who Aren't Posh Enough is Holding Back Talent". Daily Record. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
- ↑ Millar, John (15 April 2012). "Martin Compston Opens Heart about Love Split and Death of Beloved Gran". Daily Record. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Black, Claire (13 January 2013). "Interview: Martin Compston Talks about His New Film The Wee Man". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Rampton, James (15 April 2013). "Actor Martin Compston Makes Waves as Leading Man". The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Wednesday, Monkey (6 March 2013). "Martin Compston to Play Great Train Robber in BBC1 Drama". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Hadlow, Janice (25 July 2012). "Media Centre – Line of Duty to Return for Second Series". BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2013.
- ↑ Barker, Adam (4 September 2014). "Media Centre – Line of Duty to Return for Further Two Series". BBC.
- ↑ Bley Griffiths, Eleanor (21 December 2016). "How Historically accurate is In Plain Sight? The True Story of Serial Killer Peter Manuel Played by Martin Compston". Radio Times. Retrieved 2 January 2017.
External links
Authority control  |
|---|