While audiences endure the agonizingly slow anticipation for the new series of Line of Duty, which starts filming in January, actor Martin Compston will be seen across multiple new projects. He appears in a couple of new roles and also in his well-known form of a brisk and reserved protagonist in Red Eye.
A Surprise Turn in The Revenge Club
First up is The Revenge Club, where Compston offers a standout turn. The premise revolves around a therapy circle for the recently divorced, a disparate gang united solely by their common fate of being dismissed. “There’s no other explanation for these individuals to be in each other’s orbit,” Compston notes. “They’re all lost and in desperate need of friendship. They’re all, in their own ways, broken, which makes for this unpredictable dynamic.”
“If you’ve got an enthusiasm about what you’re doing and enthusiasm for what you’re doing, the audience will follow you.”
Although this could seem bleak, the program is the opposite – even scenes in a beat-up community centre are full of life. The deeds of revenge, executed by the entire group, begin fairly tame before turning into more serious ground. The series at first recalls familiar tones but quickly finds its particular voice. “It resides in its own lane,” he explains. “It goes from intense scenes into a sort of caper. You believe you’re going down a certain path, then you’re not.”
Venturing Beyond the Usual Role
Two surprising elements emerge about Compston's casting in this project. The first is that he's in a comedic role, a rarity for him. “This was outside my usual wheelhouse,” admits Compston. Another surprise is his position as the central romantic figure, a notable departure from his typically disastrous fictional love life. He and his co-star exhibit a engaging screwball chemistry.
“That’s one of the things I appreciate about the series,” he adds. “Our characters aren't just innocent victims who have been hurt. Our exes might just be people who’ve moved on with their lives. We’ve all gone down this path because we had little to hold onto, and all of a sudden we have this group.”
Experiencing Las Vegas
Maybe more surprising is the off-screen Compston showcased in the upcoming travelogue Living Las Vegas. Having married American actor Tianna Chanel Flynn nearly a decade ago, he splits his time between Greenock and Nevada. The show follows him navigating his second home city, making friends with locals from a retro store owner to horse riding instructors. It shows a charming and deliberately apolitical glimpse of normal life.
“A lot of people exist on social media,” he says, carefully. “I am not unaware of the issues out there, but we reside on a lovely street, we’ve got nice neighbours... we’re all just getting on with our lives.” He states his own ideological views but emphasizes that, as a guest, he mostly prefers to stay out of it in an particularly angry discourse.
The Return of a Phenomenon
The recent confirmation of Line of Duty's new series has sparked enormous interest. The drama achieved historic viewing figures for its last season end. “That 9 o’clock hour, be it on a Sunday night or over the holidays, it’s incredibly valuable,” Compston reflects. “You feel like you’ve got the country in the collective grip if you’ve got something good to show them.”
He believes that the character of Supt Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, has resonated profoundly with viewers. “He’s become the nation’s father figure. A man who wants to do the right thing. People want to root for the good guys, and believe there are good guys out there.”
New Horizons
In the meantime, Compston reprises to action-packed drama territory in the second season of Red Eye, channeling the charismatic qualities fans love him for. Beyond acting, he is increasingly moving into production roles. “There's that innate guilt, you need to do something,” he says of his drive.
He describes one passion project, a biopic about Allan Pinkerton, a Glasgow-born man who created the Pinkerton detective agency in America. “He founded the secret service, worked on the Underground Railroad... had an incredible life. This little guy from the Gorbals.” It seems like a story uniquely suited to an actor celebrated for playing principled characters.
The Revenge Club is available now on Paramount+; Red Eye is broadcast on ITV1 on New Year’s Day.
