The Scottish actor has become best known for playing DS Steve Arnott in Line Of Duty, but it turns out he could have previously landed a role on one of the biggest TV shows of all time.
Martin was speaking on his own Restless Natives podcast with fellow Scotsman Daniel Portman, who played Podrick Payne in Game Of Thrones.
“I auditioned for the pilot and not only did I never get that, I never got an audition again,” Martin revealed.
“That character died fairly quickly and I thought, ‘That’s good, maybe I’ll get in later’, [but] no.”
The pair still found things in common
But while he was never cast in the HBO megahit, both actors bonded over the pressure of delivering a finale in their respective shows that would leave fans satisfied.
Martin recalled going for a walk when the final episode of Line Of Duty was on, and said that he received texts from people asking about the identity of the mysterious H.
Daniel also spoke about his own experience with the GOT finale, which infamously received widespread criticism from fans and critics alike.
“You’re never going to please everybody. I think they maybe could have extended it. They maybe could have given a wee bit more time for people after such a long, epic thing. It maybe felt a wee bit rushed,” he said.
He went on: “I remember after [the finale] there were petitions, and millions of signatures on these petitions, to re-do the final series. Good luck getting us all back together in Belfast for another nine months. There’s no chance.”
Nonetheless, Daniel was grateful for the part
Daniel did however express his gratitude to land what initially started as a small role that lasted until the very end. “You obviously think it’s going to be a success because of the company and the people that have been in it, but the first season hadn’t really taken off massively here.
“I don’t think it really landed here until the Red Wedding in season three or season four, but you can’t really prepare for anything to be like that. It was mental.”
In other news, Prime Video has announced that Martin will be starring in a new three-part psychological thriller series called Fear.