Scottish actor
Martin Compston
Compston in 2019
Born Occupation(s) Actor, former professional footballer Years active 2002–present Known for Line of Duty Spouse
Tianna Chanel Flynn
(
m. 2016)
Children 1
Martin Compston is a Scottish actor and former professional footballer . He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama Line of Duty , Liam in Ken Loach 's Sweet Sixteen , Paul Ferris in The Wee Man , Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen , and Dan Docherty in The Nest .
Early life and education
Born to a Catholic family, Martin Compston, the younger of two brothers,[ 1] was brought up in Greenock , Scotland, and attended St Columba's High School in neighbouring Gourock .[ 2]
A promising footballer , he was a youth player with Aberdeen as a teenager,[ 3] and after leaving school signed for his local professional club Greenock Morton .[ 4]
Compston made two first-team appearances in the 2001–02 season , in which the team was 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 .[ 5] After leaving Morton, he briefly played in junior football for Greenock Juniors .[ 6]
Acting career
Having never acted before, Compston successfully auditioned for the lead role in Ken Loach 's Sweet Sixteen , which was being filmed locally.[ 7] 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.[ 8]
He had a regular role in the BBC TV 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.[citation needed ]
Compston starred in the 2010 film Soulboy , alongside Craig Parkinson , playing the role of Joe McCain.[ 7] He also made a cameo appearance in a low-budget web series, Night is Day .[citation needed ]
Compston appeared in The View 's music video for "Grace" and "How Long ".[ 9]
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 the same year, he also starred in the violent thriller Piggy .[ 10] 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 .[ 11] It was released in the UK in January 2013.
In April 2013, Compston starred in the ITV miniseries The Ice Cream Girls .[ 12] He appeared as Roy James in The Great Train Robbery .[ 13]
In 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019 and 2021, Compston reprised his lead role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in five more series of police drama Line of Duty , which moved from BBC Two to BBC One at the start of its fourth series.[ 14] [ 15]
In 2016, he starred in the three-part Scottish television series In Plain Sight as serial murderer Peter Manuel .[ 16] In 2020, he starred alongside Sophie Rundle in the television series The Nest .[ 17]
In 2021, Compston was cast to star as Fulmer Hamilton in the Amazon Prime Video thriller The Rig ,[ 18] which was released in January 2023.[ 19]
In March 2022, Compston starred in Our House .[ 20] [ 21] [ 22] The drama series is based on the novel Our House by Louise Candlish.[ 23]
Personal life
Compston married American actress Tianna Chanel Flynn in 2016.[ 24] They have a son.[ 25]
Compston is a supporter of Scottish independence and the Scottish National Party .[ 26]
Filmography
Film
Television
References
^ "Martin Compston: 'Who would play me in the film of my life? Vicky McClure' " . the Guardian . 5 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022 .
^ "Martin Compston: Plucked to stardom from a school corridor" . BBC News . 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022 .
^ "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 .
^ Hossack, Brian (26 September 2017). "Greenock actor Martin Compston backs Ravenscraig club" . Greenock Telegraph . Retrieved 6 June 2021 .
^ a b Clarke, Cath (26 August 2010). "How Martin Compston Shimmied from Football to Films" . The Guardian . Retrieved 4 July 2013 .
^ "Profile and awards: Sweet Sixteen (2002)" . BIFA . 11 October 2002. 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 . Archived from the original on 12 May 2016. 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 .
^ Ferguson, Brian (13 March 2020). "The Nest: Martin Compston, Sophie Rundle, Mirren Mack and Shirley Henderson on Scotland's new TV thriller" . Edinburgh Evening News . Retrieved 15 March 2020 .
^ " 'Schitt's Creek' Star Emily Hampshire Joins Amazon UK Series 'The Rig'; Scotland Shoot To Begin This Month" . Deadline . 17 March 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2022 .
^ Buchan, Sophie (6 January 2023). "The Rig fans are all saying the same thing after Martin Compston drama launches" . GlasgowLive . Retrieved 9 January 2023 .
^ "TV tonight: Martin Compston stars in psychological drama Our House" . The Guardian . 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022 .
^ Adejobi, Alicia (7 March 2022). "Our House viewers fume as ITV goes goes off-air during opening episode: 'Trying to work out what I've missed' " . Metro . Retrieved 7 March 2022 .
^ "Martin Compston on Line of Duty, accents and his new show Our House" . The Times . 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022 .
^ Sansome, Jessica (7 March 2022). "Our House on ITV: What it's about, cast and where you've seen them before" . Manchester Evening News . Retrieved 7 March 2022 .
^ Mullen, Stacey (20 June 2016). "Line of I Do: Actor Martin Compston marries actress Tianna Chanel Flynn" . The Herald . Glasgow. Retrieved 27 February 2020 .
^ "Martin Compston on 'horrors' of child labour after visit to Bangladesh" . STV News . 7 June 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2024 .
^ "Line of Duty's Martin Compston urges Scots to vote for Nicola Sturgeon" . The Independent . 2 May 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021 .
^ "Martin Compston's Scottish Fling" . bbc.co.uk/mediacentre . 8 September 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022 .
^ "Mayflies - Meet the cast and creatives behind the drama that 'discovers the joy and the costs of love' " . bbc.co.uk/mediacentre . 19 December 2022. Retrieved 20 December 2022 .
^ "Martin Compston's Norwegian Fling coming to BBC TV and BBC iPlayer in 2024" . bbc.co.uk/mediacentre . 21 December 2023. Retrieved 21 December 2023 .
^ "Film crews to descend on Glasgow for new TV thriller" . Herald Scotland . 9 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024 .
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