Date of Birth

8 December 1984, Greenock, Renfrewshire, Scotland, UK

Nickname

Martino

Height

5' 8" (1.73 m)

Mini Biography

Martin Compston grew up in Greenock, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire. He spent his teen years going to see soccer (football) team Celtic with his brother Barry and dreamed one day he would play for them. He attended St. Columba's High School in Gourock, Inverclyde, where he passed through his Standard Grade Exams and obtained three As and two Bs in his Higher results. He left school after his fifth year to pursue his dream as a footballer and was soon signed by Morton Football Team.

In 2000, director Ken Loach discovered him at an audition at his old high school and gave him the lead role in Sweet Sixteen (2002). The movie was filmed in Martin's home area, including Greenock, Gourock, Inverkip, Kilmalcolm, and Wemyss Bay. The film was a huge success, which shot Martin into full view of the public and even gave some fame to Inverclyde. However, many counselors 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.

Compston reunited with Loach for the omnibus film Tickets (2005)

Trivia

• At 17, Martin was playing Division II soccer (football) in a Scottish high school and had never acted until being discovered by director Ken Loach, who cast him as the lead in Sweet Sixteen (2002).
• Sweet Sixteen (2002) was his first film and was critically acclaimed at the 2002 Cannes Festival in France.
• The son of Liz and Jim Compston, Martin attended St. Columba's High School, Gourock, Inverclyde, Scotland. He left at the end of his fifth year there to be signed by Greenock Morton Football Club, despite reportedly earning As and Bs in his exam results.
• Fought with the local council to have Sweet Sixteen (2002) reduced to a certificate 15 in his area for the teenagers to learn from Liam's mistakes. The battle was successful.
• His favourite actress is Sharon Stone.
• Wife, American actress Tianna Chanel Flynn, is from Las Vegas, Nevada.

Quotes

• I've two huge German shepherds who are my boys. They're called Biscuit and Buster and I love them to bits. They're two years old. - Interview with the BBC, 17 October 2004.
• I've been lucky enough to work with some great directors, and I don't want to throw that away by doing one big horrible big budget film.
• 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. At the same time, I sensed I could go somewhere in acting. I'm 28, which is young for acting, whereas in football I'd now be near the end of my career.
• Acting has been really to good me. You end up in some wild places, and I love adventure.
• There was a lot of pressure on me when I was 18, 19 to move to America. I went out for a couple of weeks and hated it. I thought I could go out of my mind. You could really see how people could go off the rails.
• When I was young, running with a gang was a cool thing to do; that's how you get popular; that's how you get the girls.
• I'm a lucky boy. Never wanted for anything; new tracksuit, new pair of football boots. I had a happy childhood.
• A lot of the films I do go down brilliantly critically and win awards, but not a lot of people see them.
• When I was growing up, it was the guys who were hardest at school who got the prettiest girls. It's a status thing.
• The last time I threw a punch was in primary school, and that was probably a slap.
• I'm in the very fortunate position as a young actor to not have to take the first job that comes along. I'm not motivated by money at this stage in my life, I'm motivated by work.