Belfast actor James Martin enjoyed the star treatment as he received a red carpet send-off ahead of his attendance at the Oscars ceremony.
The 95th Academy Awards took place last night, 12 March, and Oscar-nominated star James Martin received a brilliant send-off from his proud work colleagues at Starbucks as he prepared to attend the Oscars ceremony.
His colleagues at the Belfast Castle Lane location rolled out the red carpet, literally, and a big sign reading “Good luck James” to wish their colleague well at the prestigious film awards.
The Belfast actor starred in the short film An Irish Goodbye, which won the award for Best Short Film at the 95th Academy Awards, which took place on James’ 31st birthday on 12 March.
An Irish Goodbye – won the Oscar for best short film
An Irish Goodbye was written and directed by Tom Berkeley and Ross White and was filmed on location in Derry, Saintfield and Templepatrick.
The short film, a black comedy set on a rural farm, tells the story of two estranged brothers who reunite after the death of their mother to fulfil her bucket list.
James plays one of the brothers called Lorcan, whose brother Turlough plans to send him to live with his aunt on the other side of Ireland.
Lorcan will only agree to this on the stipulation that they first complete the 100 items on their mother’s bucket list.
James Martin – an actor who is no stranger to success
James is no stranger to our screens as he previously starred in the ITV drama Marcella and BBC TV film Ups and Downs. James picked up a BAFTA recently, and there is much hope that he will also experience similar success at the Oscars.
However, James is not letting the success go to his head as upon his arrival home from Hollywood; he plans to return to work as a barista at Starbucks alongside his other long-term job as a chef at the Italian restaurant Scalini.
Speaking about his jobs, James said, “When I was still at school, I came home one day and told my dad that I’d got a job at Starbucks.
“I didn’t get the job for a sympathy vote, but because they told me I was the first person to come to them on work experience who actually worked!
“Ever since it has been a fantastic job, and I like chatting to all the different customers who come through the doors, especially all the regulars. It’s a great team to be part of, and we all get along well together.”
Campaign work on behalf of people with disabilities – never let anything hold you back
James is also quite well-known for his campaign work for people with disabilities. Speaking about Down’s syndrome, he said, “Well, let’s put it this way, I’m the first person with Down’s syndrome to not just pick up a Bafta but, fingers crossed, an Oscar.
“I always say to people, ‘never judge a book by its cover’ because anybody can act; it doesn’t matter if you have Down’s syndrome”.
James’s father, Ivan, was proud of his son’s achievements and said, “When James was born, one of the doctors said to me that we’d have to realise that he’d probably never speak. Well, he did, and now here he is going to the Oscars.”
