Martin Compston on the terrifying minute he went up in flames on the set of The Rig

As his previous manager Ted Hastings would say, ‘Now we’re cooking with gas.’ Martin Compston has swapped the waistcoats and job interview rooms of Line Of Responsibility for a hard hat and an oil system in the wild North Sea in new supernatural thriller The Rig.

It’s a component shut to his coronary heart, as his personal father applied to work on these distant, towering constructions, but filming proved amazingly dangerous when a main stunt went incorrect, as Martin reveals with a anxious laugh. ‘Yeah, it received a wee little bit toasty!’

A mysterious fog causes havoc at a single point and his character, a peaceful but plucky oil worker identified as Fulmer, has to rescue the crew from destruction by taking pictures a flare into a cloud of gas to relight the rig’s important flame. The subsequent explosion catches him. ‘At to start with I was going, “Wow, I’m on hearth and I don’t truly feel a thing, what they can do is incredible,”’ remembers Martin, who experienced protecting padding below his burning outfit. ‘Then I went, “Oh, I can really feel this a wee bit.” And then, “I can really truly feel it now!”’

Though the flames started to reach the skin on his back again, even now Martin didn’t cry out. ‘There’s this daft point as an actor, you maintain going till anyone claims, “Cut!”’

As his outdated manager Ted Hastings would say, ‘Now we’re cooking with gasoline.’ Martin Compston (pictured) has swapped the waistcoats and job interview rooms of Line Of Obligation for a challenging hat and an oil system in the wild North Sea in new supernatural thriller The Rig

His distress need to have been visible however, simply because one of the solid intervened to conserve him. ‘It was Iain Glen [who plays the leader of the oil rig team] who claimed, “Guys, this is not heading quite as planned.” So they were being on top rated of it quickly.’ Martin was shaken, but was he truly damage? ‘No. A little bit of a tan!’

Which is a usually jokey method from an actor who appears to be fully down to earth, inspite of being one particular of the stars of the most-watched British drama of the century. A file Tv viewers viewed the sixth – and possibly closing – collection of Line Of Obligation previous spring, as colleagues Ted Hastings, Kate Fleming and Steve Arnott, performed by Adrian Dunbar, Vicky McClure and Martin, last but not least tracked down the learn criminal H. There was even a Hollywood-type shoot-out. ‘I appreciate all that things, like acquiring set on hearth. It is a fantastic carry on.’

He’s maintaining it breezy for the moment, but Martin will go deep right now and speak about his lifestyle and his family in a way this pretty personal man has not often performed just before. The 38-yr-previous from Greenock in western Scotland gets to use his very own accent in The Rig relatively than the English a person he uses in Line Of Obligation, and performs a man with a comparable work to the one particular his father had. ‘There were being a good deal of nice wee connections like that. They gave us the suitable kit, so I acquired to give my father my boots at the finish. He even now operates in the shipyards, so he’s experienced decent dress in out of them.’

What will his father make of the present? ‘He’ll be the 1st to tell me if there is just about anything improper! It was excellent to speak to him about this, due to the fact it turns out an oil rig is a good spot for drama. It’s a dangerous, claustrophobic, higher-rigidity environment,’ says Martin. ‘If you never like any individual, you will however see them four or 5 periods a working day, there is nowhere to cover.’

He remembers his father leaving for his fortnight at sea. ‘I had this pretty glamorous notion of Aberdeen as a child, since my mum would say, “Your dad’s away, he’s likely on the helicopter.”’ Then came the return. ‘I don’t forget me and my brother buying him up at the coach station – and I suggest selecting him up.’ The crews started out ingesting as soon as their flight household landed and some retained it up right up until their return to do the job. ‘My father would have his drink on the way down, then get again to typical everyday living. It was a really challenging residing.’

It is a element shut to his heart, as his very own father used to do the job on these distant, towering constructions, but filming proved astonishingly harmful when a major stunt went erroneous, as Martin (pictured) reveals with a anxious snicker. ‘Yeah, it bought a wee little bit toasty!’

North Sea oil and gas are no for a longer period modern in these times of eco-activism, but Martin suggests, ‘We occur from a place of regard. As a feat of engineering, what was accomplished in the North Sea is one thing we really should be proud of. It kept the economic climate running for many years.’ There is also a powerful environmental information in The Rig, as unusual forces are introduced by the exploitation of fossil fuels. ‘The character performed by Mark Bonnar has this wonderful line, “If we continue to keep punching holes in the earth, at some point it is gonna punch again.” That’s at the coronary heart of it.’

Bonnar is a person of numerous users of the forged who also labored on Line Of Obligation, alongside with Owen Teale, Rochenda Sandall and the director John Strickland. They ended up alongside one another filming The Rig in Edinburgh when Line Of Obligation began to air in 2021. ‘It was beautiful to have them all to converse to about what was occurring,’ claims Martin, who was astonished at the show’s snowballing attractiveness.

‘It was overwhelming. Previous yr received a little bit out of hand. The anticipation was far too a great deal,’ he states. ‘The night it started out, I experienced to go out for a stroll. I went up to Edinburgh Castle and it was deserted, for the reason that persons ended up indoors watching the exhibit. It just felt also large, which is thrilling because it feels like you’ve bought the full nation observing, but at the same time you do not want to allow anyone down.’

Even the late Queen reportedly turned engrossed, acquiring it a distraction immediately after the dying of the Duke of Edinburgh. ‘Those points are surreal,’ says Martin with a shake of his head. ‘I test not to imagine about it. If anyone watches it, that usually means the entire world to me. I hope she savored it.’

So is Line Of Obligation coming back? ‘No rapid plans,’ claims Martin firmly. ‘We constantly get large time in between. We would not arrive back again just for the sake of it. The author Jed Mercurio would only do it if he had the suitable tale. Accomplishment is a excellent detail, but then you have acquired to get us all tied down to do it all over again.’ He does not audio all that convinced. ‘The one factor I would say is that right after just about every other series I have constantly believed, “Yeah, we’ll arrive back.” But soon after the previous 1 I imagined, “That could be the conclusion.” I consider we all felt that way.’

Would he even now say indeed, if requested? ‘Yes, as buddies I’d adore to do the job with them all once again on a personal amount, but you do not want to leave it on a negative album do you?’ He’s referring to when a band attempts to keep likely far too lengthy and finishes up producing a garbage file. ‘We went out on a significant substantial there, it was wildly thriving, so I wouldn’t be unhappy if that was the stop.’

His priorities have shifted more than the 10 decades given that Line Of Obligation started, not the very least just after marrying American actor and events planner Tianna Flynn in 2016. Martin now lives some of the time in her household town of Las Vegas. Their son was born three many years back. ‘The second that actually obtained to me was missing my wee one’s 1st birthday. I recall experience fairly s****y about that. I viewed it on Zoom. Everyone else was there, all the spouse and children,’ states Martin, who was filming Line Of Obligation at the time. ‘You’re undertaking it for a explanation, for a occupation and for his upcoming, but I bear in mind wondering, “I seriously ought to be there.”’

His priorities have shifted around the ten many years because Line Of Responsibility started, not the very least right after marrying American actor and activities planner Tianna Flynn (pictured together in 2019) in 2016. Martin now life some of the time in her household city of Las Vegas

So his spouse and boy or girl joined him in Scotland when he was filming The Rig. ‘We’re fortunate to have a house in this article and a household in Vegas. It’s for simple good reasons, simply because we have to have the guidance. My residence in Greenock is 5 minutes from my mum and dad and our property in Vegas is 5 minutes from my wife’s mum and dad. Right now they’re in Vegas and my mom-in-law type of moves in when I’m absent.’

Where by would he simply call home? ‘I’d say Greenock and she’d say Vegas,’ he claims, but provides, ’I really like the anonymity I have above there. My son is such a brilliant age right now, he’s so playful: he wishes to be dinosaurs or tigers and I like reading him stories so he shouts at me to do the voices. I can do all that at a park in Vegas and persons really don’t treatment. I can switch off absolutely. But when I’m in this article, I’m apprehensive about any person filming it on their cellphone and submitting these intimate times somewhere. You are often on edge.’

It is truly uncommon for Martin to speak as intimately as this about his relatives, but he’s mindful not to use his boy’s name. ‘I recall somebody stating, “You’re so secretive about your son.” I was like, “There have been 100 individuals at his christening. All people who requirements to know him knows him.” I’m extremely very pleased of him, but there are factors you want to hold.’

Other folks go to Vegas to occasion, but Martin’s the reverse. ‘It seems like a daft matter to say, but I go to Vegas to recuperate. Our neighbourhood is actually quiet. There’s a great deal of area. The weather’s very good. I’m just a father. My wife travels fairly a large amount with get the job done, she throws events in LA for people. Her position is really intense, I’m practically just at house wanting following the wee fella.’

If that appears a little bit isolating, he’s just been performing with a single of his closest mates, Scottish actor Tony Curran, on the BBC drama Mayflies (see Kathryn Flett, page 3), a transferring two-parter about a group of mates introduced back jointly when one particular of them is informed he has just months to stay. ‘We’ve all bought that one close friend who’s the ringleader and if they have been to go then all the things would drop aside. Tony, who plays that part in Mayflies, is that individual for me in genuine daily life far too,’ he suggests. ‘I initial fulfilled him when we did Pink Highway [a movie from 2006]. He mentioned, “Oh, if you are at any time in LA occur continue to be at mine.” I took him up on it and turned up a 7 days later with my suitcase. I slept on an inflatable on his kitchen area flooring for three months, and we have been near good friends at any time considering that.’

The terminally ill man in Mayflies chooses to go to Switzerland to conclusion his daily life, major to closing scenes that manufactured the forged cry. ‘It’s the most emotionally present I’ve at any time been on the career. We have been just gone, no matter of in which the digital camera was. It was a incredibly raw day.’

The drama, centered on a guide by Andrew O’Hagan, also produced him consider challenging about whether or not he could close his lifetime in equivalent situation. ‘I thought I would, but now I’m not so positive. People assume it is an easy thing to do. It is not. You just cannot just rock up. There is a whole lot of stuff you have to go as a result of. And it is this kind of a extensive dilemma. We have to demonstrate both equally factors of check out, but for my tuppence-really worth I’m a patron of a hospice. I feel they give remarkable end-of-existence treatment, and people today can go with dignity.’

Apart from Tony Curran, who are his mates? ‘I’m nonetheless greatest friends with the boys I went to major faculty with: Shauny, Cabey, Mixu.’ The last one is nicknamed following a previous Hibernian footballer referred to as Mixu Paatelainen. Martin was at the time a expert himself with Greenock Morton and even now performs in charity matches. What do his mates make of his fame? ‘They just wind me up. We’re ruthless with just about every other in our humour. You cannae display any weakness. I discuss to them every single working day on WhatsApp. We’re all mad Celtic admirers. I really feel far more related to them than I’ve at any time been.’

What about his prosperity nevertheless? Martin is claimed to be worthy of at least £3 million – does that not get in the way? ‘Maybe it’s just a lucky thing. I have never been that flash a person in any case. I’m definitely pleased with existence at the minute and if it can maintain likely this way that would be good. I’m having good quality operate and a awesome level of fame. I loved making The Rig and Mayflies and I have got a couple of good issues lined up for future calendar year,’ he says, smiling warmly. ‘I believe issues are going all proper.’

The Rig, Primary Online video, from Friday. Mayflies is on BBC iPlayer.