Martin’s shock scene was torture for Line Of Duty fans
Martin stars with Vicky McClure in Line Of Duty.
The police drama hits the big time next weekend with a channel switch to a primetime BBC1 slot.
But Greenock-born Martin, 32, told The Sunday Post a horrific torture scene in its early days gripped viewers as tightly as the vice his hand was stuffed into.
“The scene caused such a fuss,” admits Martin, who plays Det Sgt Steve Arnott.
“I had people coming up asking if my hand was alright.
“I didn’t know what they meant until they started talking about the vice.
“It seems such a long time ago now because we filmed that in Birmingham before moving to Belfast where we’ve filmed all the rest.”
The series, also starring Vicky McClure, from recent Glasgow-shot The Replacement, and Adrian Dunbar, focuses on the work of an anti-corruption unit.
It was originally shown on BBC2 but became such a hit it is now switching to BBC1.
Previous stars have been brutally killed off, with Keeley Hawes getting a bullet through the head and Call The Midwife’s Jessica Raine being thrown out of a window.
But such is its reputation of writer Jed Mercurio that the new series had Hollywood star Thandie Newton desperate to sign up.
Martin admits the switch brings a lot of scrutiny.
“We were the biggest thing on BBC2 since ratings began,” he says.
Martin, who stays in the cop’s English accent all the time during filming says he’s “forever grateful” for being given the chance to play the lead in a primetime show.
“I never thought anybody would give me that chance. I liked doing my wee, dark films and I’m an indie actor so I didn’t think that’d translate to Middle England.”
Martin shot to fame while still a teenager in Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen and then landed a role in Sunday night fave, Monarch Of The Glen.
He went on to play gangster Paul Ferris in the film TheWee Man.
He also found time to fit in playing serial killer Peter Manual in ITV’s recent thriller In Plain Sight which was filmed in Lanarkshire.
His dedication was such he started work on it just days after his wedding to stunning American actress Tianna Chanel Flynn at Renfrewshire’s Mar Hall resort, forcing him to postpone their honeymoon.
The couple now live in Los Angeles and Celtic fan Martin revealed he had got up in the middle of the night to view the recent Old Firm game.