The Belfast actor on coping with fame, meeting Joe Biden and the advice he gives young people with acting aspirations
The Belfast man talks about coping with fame, meeting Joe Biden and the advice he gives aspiring actors as his new film Fairview Park is shown at festivalsIn a village pub overlooking Cushendun bay in the Glens of Antrim, Oscar winner James Martin is waiting for a Thursday evening quiz to begin.
‘I live in a little converted cow shed while I restore my new home’: A property writer’s renovation project It has been eight months since the 31-year-old actor and barista stood on the Dolby Theatre stage in Los Angeles and made history by becoming the first person with Down syndrome to win an Academy Award after the Northern Ireland short in which he starred, An Irish Goodbye, was awarded best live action short film.
An Irish Goodbye, written and directed by Tom Berkeley and Ross White, is the story of two estranged brothers reuniting on the family’s rural farm following their mother’s death, and was shot over five days in lockdown on a budget of £25,000 .James, lauded for his comic timing in the black comedy, says he ad-libbed a key scene “to make it even funnier”.
Asked where the award is stored – it was shared between the team – Ivan reveals he ended up hiding it as it was “too much to handle”. Since childhood James has accompanied Ivan, a broadcaster and sports journalist, to Irish League soccer matches in Northern Ireland, and is often seen on the sidelines doing post-match interviews.
US president Joe Biden embraces James Martin at Ulster University in Belfast in April. Photograph: Aaron Chown/PA “I understood fully the frenzy that would be around the Oscars – it’s the Rolls-Royce of awards and I knew there would a kick-on. But I thought, a month, six weeks and it would be history. It’s as intense as ever.”
“I think after winning an award, it’s all down to what you can give back. People with Down syndrome and other disabilities have come up to me and asked me what advice I would give them about acting. I tell them to talk to their parents and find a drama group that suits them. I always say to try it out and give it a go.
The bottom line is that when we went home with James we very quickly learned that the fact he had Down syndrome was secondary“She told me the doctor would be along in a minute. I’d never been that close to a newborn before so I didn’t know. “We were delighted with him and we brought him up so that if he wanted to get involved in something, we allowed him to do that. He liked acting, football, tag rugby, swimming ... all of those things worked.
“She wrote that she watched the Oscars with her mum and dad and when James came on to get his award, she pointed at the screen and said: ‘Look at that, there’s a guy just won an Oscar and he looks the same as me.’ She was 12 years old.” “This is where we all get together and have a good old chat, and we’re just thrilled with James’s success, thrilled,” she says.
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