Martin Compston gets “the fear” when he thinks about almost rejecting his role in ‘Line of Duty’.
Martin Compston
The 37-year-old actor is best known for his portrayal of DI Steve Arnott in the BBC crime drama but he was offered the part at the same time he was cast in ‘The Wee Man’, which he’d been desperate to feature in.
And Martin will always be thankful to his agent for his “wizardry” in making the schedule fit so he could do both, as he’d told his representative to turn down ‘Line of Duty’ if there was a clash.
He said: “Luckily my agent managed some wizardry because, God, if I’d turned down Steve Arnott… that would have been rough… I get the fear now and again thinking how close I was to not doing it.”
While it has yet to be confirmed if there will be a seventh series of ‘Line of Duty’, Martin expects his character will go through some sort of “torture” again if there is.
He joked of showrunner Jed Mercurio: “[He] loves torturing Steve slash me… Every year I say to him, ‘What’s next? Am I getting framed for murder or am I being thrown over the stairs?’ ”
The last series featured a joke about Martin and Stephen Graham’s heights, branding them “short a****” but the actor admitted Jed initially cut the jibe because he thought he was “p***** off”.
But Martin insisted: “That made me laugh.”
Even if there isn’t another series, Martin knows he, Jed, and co-stars Vicky McClure and Adrian Dunbar will be “pals for life”.
He added to the Telegraph magazine: “[Adrian taught me] life begins at 60. He’s got a zest for life – he’s infectious to be around.
“[Vicky is one] of my best mates, somebody who I go to for advice, we speak probably every other day.”
The ending of season six was criticised by many disappointed fans and Martin thinks it’s fine they spoke out about feeling underwhelmed.
He said: “People have invested so much time in it, they’re more than entitled to their opinion.”
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