Born Alexander Martin Clunes, Martin is best known for his portrayal of Martin Ellingham in the series Doc Martin. He’s narrated quite a few documentaries for ITV and has become one of the more prominent actors in the UK throughout the years. As it’s been said before however it’s fairly easy to lose one actor in the shuffle if they aren’t used often enough in the public eye or if they’re a background or supporting actor that gets enough play to be recognized but still don’t mange to warrant much recognition on their own. This happens to way too many actors both in America and across the pond and to be honest it’s about as common as anything else in show business. The only upside is that such folks don’t get mobbed the same way that the celebrities whose faces are plastered all over the world do. Some people might call that a win in some regard.
He was a stage actor before he became a TV star.
Clunes was educated at the Arts Educational School and had his first role at the Mercury Theater in Colchester. In fact he was even given a look for a sitcom after appearing at the Hampstead Theater. For parts of his career he’s been attached to the stage in a way that many individuals are when it comes to revamping their career or needing something to do between gigs. The theater is in fact a good way to hone one’s skills as there is no way to yell cut or simply do a scene over. Everything has to be practiced, rehearsed, and delivered on point. This is why being on stage seems like it would be so much harder and require so much more skill, which in turn should be the reason that actors take to the stage occasionally in order to perfect their timing and skills.
Eventually Clunes did make his first television appearance in Doctor Who in 1983, but from that point on his career became kind of sporadic and he had to supplement his income by becoming a photo model.
Eventually he managed to land on a couple of TV shows.
The first regular role he had was as a regular on No Place Like Home. After this he went on to star in two series of the sitcom All at No 20. Eventually Harry Enfield managed to come around and offer him a role in Men Behaving Badly, which gained him more notoriety. He would then move on to the two-part TV miniseries titled Over Here. In 1993 he played in a show called Demob tha was about a couple of demobilized soldiers that have to adjust to civilian life after having entertained World War II troops with a cabaret act. Since about 1994 Clunes has been appearing on the show Have I Got News for You as either a panelist or a guest. For years now he’s been appearing in films and TV shows that have allowed him to stretch and hone his talents in a way that have allowed him to become even better than before, but it’s still been apparent that he’s more of a second-stringer mainly due to the fact that he doesn’t get as much attention as other actors.
He’s had a few turns on the radio as well during his career, and has been plugging along now for years.
Clunes has been a very prominent member of the acting world for some time. Be it TV or film he’s been seen in many productions and while he has managed to make a name for himself a lot of his parts seem to have been looked over or deemed as not quite as important to the story unless he happens to be front and center and can hold the attention of the audience. Sadly that’s the case for many actors, even some that have in the past been at the top of the heap so to speak. Clunes definitely brings a lot of experience and professionalism to the set but at the same time it seems like he gets looked past for other actors for various reasons.
Keep in mind all of this is looking at the man from an American perspective and lest we get into what is acceptable between Americans and the British let’s just say that to an American, British humor, such as that practiced by the actors in Doc Martin and a few other of Clunes’ films and shows, is a bit dry at times. It still makes you laugh but you get the impression that you shouldn’t laugh uproariously simply because it might not be proper. That being said, Clunes is one of the best at keeping a straight face in the business, but whether that’s because he’s British or he’s that good is up for debate.
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