Martin Compston - wikipedia Martin Compston Martin Compston ( 1984 - 05 - 08 ) 8 May 1984 ( age 33 ) Greenock, Inverclyde, Scotland Occupation Actor, former professional footballer Years active 2002 -- present Spouse ( s ) Tianna Chanel Flynn ( m. 2016 ) Association football career Playing position Midfielder Youth career Greenock Morton Youth Senior career * Years Team Apps ( Gls ) 2001 -- 2002 Greenock Morton ( 0 ) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. Martin Compston ( born 8 May 1984 ) is a Scottish actor and former professional footballer. He is perhaps most well known for his lead role as Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in hit BBC crime drama Line of Duty. His other notable roles include Liam in Ken Loach 's Sweet Sixteen, Paul Ferris in 2013 blockbuster The Wee Man, and Ewan Brodie in Monarch of the Glen. Contents 1 Early life and football career 2 Personal life 3 Acting career 4 Filmography 5 References 6 External links Early life and Football career Compston was born and brought up in Greenock, Inverclyde, and attended St Columba 's High School in neighbouring Gourock. A youth footballer, after leaving school he signed for local professional team Greenock Morton. Compston made two first team appearances in the 2001 -- 02 Scottish First Division season, in which the team were relegated from the Scottish Football League First Division. In both matches he appeared as a substitute. Both times Morton lost 4 -- 0, to Alloa Athletic and Queen of the South. Personal life On 19 June 2016, Compston married Tianna Chanel Flynn. Compston is also a passionate supporter of Glasgow based side Celtic. Acting career Having never acted before, Compston successfully auditioned for the lead role in Ken Loach 's Sweet Sixteen, which was being filmed locally. The film 's success at the Cannes Film Festival gave him instant celebrity status in Scotland. His subsequent film career was comparatively low key as he wanted to `` serve his apprenticeship '' with a regular role in the BBC TV drama serial Monarch of the Glen. He then appeared in three films : A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints ( Jury Prize and Best Ensemble Cast at the Sundance Festival ) with Robert Downey, Jr. ; Red Road ( Jury Prize at Cannes ), shot in Scotland with Kate Dickie and Tony Curran, for which he was nominated Best Supporting Actor at the Scottish BAFTAs ; and True North with Peter Mullan and Gary Lewis, for which he was nominated as Best Actor at the British Independent Film Awards. Compston starred in the 2010 film Soulboy, alongside Craig Parkinson, playing the role of Joe McCain. He also appeared in the horror film The 4th Reich as Pte. Newman, and made a cameo appearance in small budget web series `` Night Is Day ''. Compston appeared in The View 's music video for `` Grace '' and `` How Long, '' as he is friends with the band. In 2012, Compston starred in the lead role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott, an Anti-Corruption Detective, in the award - winning BBC police drama Line of Duty, acting alongside Craig Parkinson once more. In 2012 Compston also starred in the violent thriller Piggy. Back to his Scottish roots, he then appeared in the lead role in The Wee Man, directed by Ray Burdis, a film depicting the life of renowned Glasgow Gangster Paul Ferris. It was released in the UK in January 2013. In April 2013 Compston starred in the ITV mini-series The Ice Cream Girls. Compston appeared as Roy James in The Great Train Robbery. In 2014, Compston reprised his lead role of Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott in the second series of BBC Two police drama Line of Duty. In March 2016, Compston reprised his lead role once again in the third series of hit BBC Two police - crime drama Line of Duty as lead Anti-Corruption investigator Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott of AC Unit 12. Compston starred again as DS Steve Arnott in the fourth series of Line of Duty, first broadcast in March and April 2017, this time on the BBC 's flagship channel BBC One. In 2016, he starred in the Scottish 3 - part television drama series In Plain Sight as serial murderer Peter Manuel who was pursued to his conviction and ultimate execution by detective William Muncie. Filmography Year Film Role Notes 2002 Sweet Sixteen Liam 2003 Monarch of the Glen Ewan Brodie 20 episodes between 2003 and 2005 The Royal Jeffrey Carpenter One episode, `` Snakes and Ladders '' Niceland ( Population. 1.000. 002 ) Jed Casualty Matty Howell One episode, `` Lock Down '' 2005 Tickets Jamesy Wild Country Lee 2006 A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Mike O'Shea Red Road Stevie 2007 True North Seán Night is Day Head Gangster One episode, `` Sacrifices '' 2008 Doomsday Joshua Red Mist Sean Also known as `` Freakdog '' 2009 The Damned United John O'Hare The Disappearance of Alice Creed Danny Pimp Zeb Soulboy Joe McCain 2011 7lives Rory Hit and Run Daz Ghosted Paul Four Lover How to Stop Being a Loser Adam 2012 Strippers vs Werewolves Shaniqua When the Lights Went Out Mr Price Sister Mike Line of Duty Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott Five episodes Piggy Joe 2013 The Wee Man Paul Ferris Greenshaw 's Folly Alfred Pollock The Ice Cream Girls Mr Halnsley Filth Gorman The Great Train Robbery Roy James 2014 Silent Witness Jason Ross Line of Duty Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott Six episodes 2015 Hunter 's Prayer Martin Scottish Mussel Richie 2016 Death in Paradise Dexter Allen Episode 5.6 Line of Duty Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott Six episodes 2016 In Plain Sight Peter Manuel Three episodes 2017 Line of Duty Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott Six Episodes 2018 Mary Queen of Scots Filming References ^ Jump up to : Clarke, Cath ( 26 August 2010 ). `` How Martin Compston shimmied from football to films ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Pierce, Nev ( 26 September 2002 ). `` Martin Compston : Sweet Sixteen ''. BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ `` MARTIN COMPSTON ''. Neil Brown. Retrieved 14 April 2017. Jump up ^ English, Paul ( 23 March 2016 ). `` Line of Duty star Martin Compston : Glass ceiling for actors who are n't posh enough is holding back talent ''. Daily Record. Retrieved 17 April 2016. Jump up ^ Millar, John ( 15 April 2012 ). `` Martin Compston opens heart about love split and death of beloved gran ''. Daily Record. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Black, Claire ( 13 January 2013 ). `` Interview : Martin Compston talks about his new film The Wee Man ''. The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Rampton, James ( 15 April 2013 ). `` Actor Martin Compston makes waves as leading man ''. The Scotsman. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Wednesday, Monkey ( 6 March 2013 ). `` Martin Compston to play great train robber in BBC1 drama ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Hadlow, Janice ( 25 July 2012 ). `` Media Centre -- Line Of Duty to return for second series ''. BBC. Retrieved 4 July 2013. Jump up ^ Barker, Adam ( 4 September 2014 ). `` Media Centre -- Line of Duty to return for further two series ''. BBC. Jump up ^ Bley Griffiths, Eleanor ( 21 December 2016 ). `` How historically accurate is In Plain Sight ? The true story of serial killer Peter Manuel played by Martin Compston ''. Radio Times. Retrieved 2 January 2017. External links Martin Compston on IMDb VIAF : 76554340 LCCN : no2007073888 ISNI : 0000 0000 8157 089X GND : 14197933X SUDOC : 112975976 BNF : cb145456170 ( data ) Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Martin_Compston&oldid=795510733 '' Categories : 1984 births Living people People from Greenock Scottish footballers Greenock Morton F.C. players Scottish male television actors Scottish male film actors Scottish Football League players Hidden categories : Use British English from May 2015 Use dmy dates from November 2012 Pages to import images to Wikidata Articles with hCards Wikipedia articles with VIAF identifiers Wikipedia articles with LCCN identifiers Wikipedia articles with ISNI identifiers Wikipedia articles with GND identifiers Wikipedia articles with BNF identifiers Talk Contents About Wikipedia Deutsch Français 한국어 Italiano עברית Русский Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 14 August 2017, at 18 : 13. 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Question: who plays ds arnott in line of duty
Answer: Martin Compston