The owls are not what they seems…

Brooke Thompson - American Horror Story 1984

Happy Birthday Scottish actor Martin Compston.

Born in Greenock on May 8th 1984 the second of two boys he attended  St Columba’s High School in nearby Gourock.  As a child he dreamed of becoming a footballer and at 17 left school  to pursue that dream, he was soon signed by Morton Football Team.

Before leaving school his acting career began when Ken Loach discovered him at an audition at his old high school and gave him the lead role in Sweet Sixteen, which also starred a friend of mine, Gary McCormack as Martin’s step dad, Stan.

The movie was filmed in Martin’s home area, including Greenock, Gorcock, Inverkip, Kilmalcolm, and Wemyss Bay and was a huge success, which shot Martin into full view of the public and even gave some fame to Inverclyde. However, many counsellors thought that this was bad publicity because the film has to do with drugs and underage drinking. However, Ken Loach then made a statement that the movie was not based on Greenock and Inverclyde - but was only filmed there, as that was where Martin was located.

Martin’s subsequent film career was comparatively low-key, as he wanted to “serve his apprenticeship” with a regular role in the  popular series Monarch of the Glen as  Ewan Brodie. Since then we have seen Martin in some of the most popular shows on TV including, Silent Witness,, Victoria and In Plain Sight. His film roles have included playing the gangster Paul Ferris in the movie, The Wee Man, and as Lord Bothwell in the latest Mary Queen of Scots film on which he commented “Riding about on a horse, with a sword. It’s fantastic “

Sometimes the sign of a good actor is how well you can adapt your accent for the roles, and Martin does this with ease in perhaps his most famous role as anti corruption officer Sergeant Steve Arnott in the police drama Line of Duty, he has been in the series since it’s start in 2012 and has confirmed he will be returning to play Steve in a new series, the read throughs’ started just before lock down started and we shall not see the new shows now until well into 2021. Many people did not realise that Martin is Scottish and does speak with a guid Scots accent.

As for his football career Martin says “ I don’t regret giving up football for acting. I love football and am very proud I played for Morton. But the truth is, I wasn’t going to get much higher in football.” He made two first team starts for the team in the 2001/2002 season.

More recently Martin was last on our TV screens in the TV shows, Traces and The Nest, both shot primarily in Scotland, he has been married to actress Tianna Chanel Flynn since 2016, Traces just finished it’s second series recently, since then he appeared in the mini-series, Vigil and Our House, I await with anticipation on his next mini-aeries, The Rig, which also stars Iain Glenn, Mark Bonnar and Emun Elliot, three Scottish actors that feature amongst my post throughout the year. 

As well as his acting work we will also see Marin on our screens with his friend and Gaelic television presenter, Phil MacHugh in Scottish Fling. The series will see the pair  tour the country and see how it’s being shaped by its people and its landscape.  We will see them journey from the bustling cities to the wild highlands to meet the locals and visitors that share their special love for Scotland. I think some might compare it to the Men in Kilts from Sam Heughan and  McTavish, but I am hoping it will be a wee bit less frivol than that, and don’t think I mean that in a disparaging way towards them.

Invader Zim daily sketch (2021)

Art by: Skottie Young

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