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Martin Compston: From Sweet Sixteen to Line of Duty fame

He could have become famous for a very different career

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Martin Compston is fast becoming one of our favourite TV actors – but who is his wife and does he have children?

The actor is best known for his roles in popular series Line of Duty, Vigil, The Nest, Traces and now Our House.

But how did Martin become famous and where is he really from?

Here’s everything you need to know…

Martin Compston stars in Vigil on BBC One
Martin played murder victim Craig Burke in Vigil (Credit: BBC)

Read more: Martin Compston confirms Line of Duty reunion with Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar

How did Vigil star Martin Compston become famous?

Having never acted before, Martin Compston successfully auditioned for the lead role in Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen in 2002.

The film, which was filmed locally in Scotland, was considered a success and gave Martin instant celebrity status in Scotland.

Martin subsequently won the award for Most Promising Newcomer at the British Independent Film Awards.

The actor then secured a regular role in BBC One’s Monarch Of The Glen, and other roles followed.

But it was in 2012 that he truly became a household name when he landed the role of DS Steve Arnott in police drama, Line of Duty.

The series ran for a decade from 2012 to 2021.

Martin has also portrayed serial killer Peter Manuel in ITV’s In Plain Sight, Dan in BBC One’s The Nest and Craig Burke in Vigil on BBC One.

He also portrays Daniel MacAfee in Traces on Alibi, which is currently on its second series.

Could he have been a professional footballer?

It could have been so different for Martin if he hadn’t auditioned for the part in Sweet Sixteen.

A promising footballer growing up, he was part of the youth team at Scottish Premier League side Aberdeen.

But, after he left school, he signed professional terms for local team, Greenock Morton.

He went on to make two league appearances for the team.

Martin Compston Vigil
Martin Compston as DS Steve Arnott in Line of Duty (Credit: BBC One)

Read more: Our House on ITV: When does it start, how many episodes is it and who’s in the cast?

Martin Compston wife: Which football team did he play for?

In his early days, Martin was a promising footballer and was a youth player with Aberdeen during his teens.

After leaving school, he signed for his local professional club Greenock Morton where he made two first-team appearances in the 2001-2002 season.

Sadly that was the season the team was relegated to the Third Division.

Speaking about his time at Aberdeen, he said: “They’d let you mix with the first team quite a lot; let you train with Eoin Jess, Dean Windass, Billy Dodds.”

However, after working with Ken Loach, Martin decided that an acting life was for him.

Martin Compston wife: Is he married and does he have children?

Martin is notoriously private about his personal life, but we do know he married wife Tianna Chanel Flynn in 2016.

Wife Tianna often praises her hubby on Instagram.

Back in June, she said captioning a snap and herself and Martin at the races: “Thank you for a wonderful Anniversary Weekend Celebration and Happy Father’s Day @mrmartincompston.”

Martin Compston’s wife Tianna is an estate agent, and aspiring actress.

The couple has one son together, and they live in Las Vegas.

Vigil star Martin Compston in the cast of Traces
Martin will return for another series of Traces (Credit: Alibi)

When was Martin’s son born?

Martin and wife Tianna Flynn welcomed a son into their lives two years ago in 2019.

However, Martin rarely shares any personal details about his child – not even revealing his name.

All we know is his little lad lives with Martin and Tianna in their lavish £300,000 mansion in an exclusive gated community in Las Vegas with their pitbull pet King.

Their luxurious property boats a spa, a swimming pool, a sweeping staircase and Tennent’s lager on tap for Martin.

It also has sweeping mountain views and is within driving distance of the Grand Canyon

All Martin has said about becoming a dad is that it has made an impact on his life.

“It changes everything – your priorities and your life. Our family comes first,” he has said.

He says he feels that because he is currently busy with so many opportunities he is “very lucky [Tianna] knows what stage I’m at in my career.

“It’s tough going for us, but it’s not always going to be this way.”

While we may know little about Martin’s son, we know the little fella has a range of waistcoats.

Vicky McClure has revealed that she and Adrian Dunbar bought Martin’s son a waistcoat for Christmas so he could match his dad’s trademark onscreen look.

“Martin has already got plenty of waistcoats,” she told The Daily Star, “so he doesn’t need any more!

“But when Martin had his baby, we did buy the baby a waistcoat.”

Martin Compston height – how tall is he?

He may look imposing and brooding on Line of Duty but, off screen, tough guy Martin is 1.73m, or five foot 6 – so smaller than your average actor.

But he says he’s never let any obstacles – like his height – put him off striving for what he wants.

He said as a working class kid, he battled preconceptions and had to have an edge to get him places.

“When I lose that chip, I’ll lose an edge,” he told The Telegraph.

“While I keep thinking, ‘You’re working class, you’re a wee short arse, you shouldn’t be here,’ as long as I don’t think I belong, then there’s going to be a bit of an edge to me.

“When I go on to most jobs, I feel like I’ve got something to prove. And it keeps me ticking over.”

Our House ITV episode one
Our House stars Martin Compston, Tuppence Middleton and Rupert Penry-Jones (Credit: ITV)

Martin Compston wife: How old is he?

Martin Compson was born on May 08 1984.

He is the younger of two sons.

The actor is currently 37 years of age.

Where is Martin from?

Martin Compston was born and brought up in Greenock, Scotland.

Born to a Catholic family, he attended St Columba’s High School in neighbouring Gourock.

His accent has historically stumped Line of Duty fans, who can’t believe he’s Scottish in real life!

line of duty season 7 martin compston
Martin Compston accepting an award at the NTAs (Credit: ITV)

Martin Compston wife: What’s his net worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Martin Compston has a net worth of around £3.5million.

Much of this has come from his time on the smash hit show Line of Duty and the shows that he’s been offered because of it.

Over the years, he has landed lucrative roles in films like A Guide to Recognising Your Saints, alongside Robert Downey Jr, Doomsday and Damned United, Filth with James McEvoy, and Mary Queen of Scots with Margot Robbie.

Is Martin Compston in the running to play James Bond?

There is always so much speculation about who will follow in Daniel Craig’s footsteps as James Bond and Martin Compston is one of the lucky few who has been tipped to scoop the role.

In April of 2021, his odds were slashed from 16-1 to 6-1.

That meant he was ahead of Poldark’s Aidan Turner (who was then 10-1), singer Harry Styles and Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy (both on 8-1).

However, he was behind Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender.

In mid-February 2022, while Tom Hardy was still in the running to replace Daniel Craig (with odds of 4/1), Henry Cavill overtook him with 5/2 odds, putting him neck and neck with Bridgerton star Rene-Jean Page.

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Watch Martin Compston in Our House on ITV from Monday March 07 2022 at 9pm.

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