"Challinor is a strong lead, coping with the tumultuous character journey well especially during the heavily emotive scenes"
Positive Result | UK Film Review
“There is a wonderful performance by Martin Challinor as Declan, a hairdresser who steals a lot of scenes. ”
Scareycrows | UK Film Review
UK-Offline Web Fest - Best UK Actor
Physical Details
Playing Age: 30 - 45
Height: 175 cm / 5ft 9in
Weight: 70 kg / 154 lbs
Chest: 96 cm / 38 in
Waist: 76 cm / 30 in
Leg: 81 cm / 32 in
Build: Athletic / Muscular
Ethnicity: White / Caucasian
Hair colour: Blonde
Hair length: Medium
Eye colour: Blue
Special Skills and Experiences
Car and motorcycle license
Black belt in Taekwondo
PADI Scuba Diving Instructor
Personal Trainer
Horse rider
Whitewater kayaking
Skydiving / Parachuting
Military experience (Territorial Army and Royal Navy)
Fully trained in Method Acting
Scientifically trained (BSc Astrophysics)
Business background (inc. MBA)
French and German (Basic)
Areas of Interest
Film (Feature and Short)
Television
Theatre (Professional and Fringe)
Commercials
Music Videos
Presenting
Corporate
Radio
Introduction
Martin Challinor is an award winning professional actor with experience in Film (feature and short), Television, Commercials, Music Videos and Theatre.
As an actor, Martin has been described as professional, reliable, enthusiastic, easy to work with/direct and one hundred percent committed to any project he undertakes. He is always eager to explore new opportunities that create compelling stories in which he can bring intriguing characters to life in a genuine and realistic way.
Martin has been based in New York City, USA, since 2019, as a US permanent resident, with another base in London, UK.
“Martin is a versatile actor and a wonderful asset to every shoot. We were extremely pleased with his performance on our drama re-enactment for the documentary “Inside Windsor Castle”.”
Film
Martin has had a number of significant roles in both short and feature length films, including as the lead in the tudor drama 'Where Thunder Reigns' as Sir Thomas Wyatt, a film he also co-produced. Other feature film credits include ‘Scareycrows’, ‘Conspiracy of Dark Falls’ and ‘Winter Ridge’.
In terms of awards on the festival circuit, Martin was the lead actor in the short film 'Dead Meat' which won 'Best Short Film' in 2014 and won 'Best UK Actor' for the short film 'Mark' in 2016.
Television
Martin has had featured appearances in a number of well known TV programmes in the UK, including BBC, ITV and Channel 5 productions such as ‘Casualty’, ‘Cucumber’, ‘Doctor Who’, ‘Switch’, ‘Inside Windsor Castle’ and the major 2020 CNN series “The Windors: Inside the Royal Dynasty”.
Commercials
Commercials include major brands such as Truefitt & Hill, Morgan Motors, Honda Motorcycles, Microsoft and the Number 6 Music Festival
Theatre
Martin has undertaken a number of theatre roles including lead role and antagonist in ‘A Cape Coast Story’ as Captain Nick Murray. He was also in a lead role as Henry Jones in the West End production of ‘Home: For a Lost Soldier’.
Martin also has also been in leading roles in a number of off-broadway New York productions including “The Beaux Strategem” as Archer, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” as Theseus & Oberon and “Shakespeare in Hollywood” as Oberon.
Other credits include 'Glengarry Glen Ross' (Moss), 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses' (Valmont) and 'On An Average Day' (Jack).
Martin has also been on tour around the UK with Doctor Who.
Training
Martin completed advanced training at Brian Timoney's Acting Studio, London in 2013. This included method acting, improvisation, voice classes, physical acting, scene study and TV/Film technique. This intensive course also included a Los Angeles Masterclass with top casting agents and acting coaches for one week in January 2013.
In 2020 Martin completed two advanced classes at the renowned Stella Adler Acting School in New York. This included Advanced Scene Study and TV Audition Technique.
“Challinor does a fantastic job in his performance as Billy, an everyday man so overtly thrown into the fire when a purely accidental moment upends his life with harsh intent. Watching from the moment Billy learns he’s contracted ZNP, to the unnerved state of being he exudes while being tested and somewhat generically “encouraged” by public health officials, to the jarring emotional strife he faces when being bullied at work, spurned at home, and left with no sense of optimism, it’s a rollercoaster ride that almost leads him to end it all until the right instance comes along and saves the day. The relief Billy feels when having actual certainty he isn’t friendless or abandoned is deeply sincere, and Challinor channels all of this raw sentiment very, very well. ”
Positive Result | Kirk Fernwood, One Film Fan
Background
Martin grew up on the North Welsh border near Shrewsbury, Shropshire in the United Kingdom. He had always had an interest in acting and performed in many productions whilst at school. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Astrophysics, Martin gained experience in both military and business environments, achieving an MBA along the way. However, Martin always maintained his enthusiasm for acting and was actively involved in a number of theatre groups, in addition to taking on a number of modelling assignments. Having decided to pursue his ambition to become a professional actor, Martin enrolled in drama school and gained experience in a number of independent films, as both a leading and a featured supporting actor. Working tirelessly to develop, utilise and promote his talent, Martin has already achieved a number of aims, including UK film festival awards, roles in primetime television shows and lead roles in West End and Off Broadway theatre productions.
“From day 1 Martin was a pleasure to work with. He arrived on set with a clear understanding of the script, and of his character, and with a genuine desire to develop the character and bring depth and reality to the role. He wasn’t afraid to ask questions, and explore some of the unwritten story behind and around the character, using this to inform the decision he was making as the character in his scenes. This wasn’t a pretentious exercise, but an authentic process of discovery as we discussed and agreed new aspects of the character’s life and personality. As well as his technical skills and acting ability, he was also a great cast member to have on set, and was great fun to have around between takes. I honestly can’t recommend Martin highly enough”