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2023 Oscar-nominated actor James Martin works at Starbucks

10:13, January 30

He's the star of an Academy Award-nominated film, but James Martin is so determined not to let fame go to his head he’s holding on to his job at his local Starbucks, The Daily Mail reported.

The actor will be waiting with bated breath at the Oscars ceremony when the winners are announced as An Irish Goodbye—in which he plays one of two brothers brought together by their mother’s death—is nominated in the Best Short Film category.

But the excitement has not deterred the Northern Irish 30-year-old, who has Down’s syndrome, from working shifts in his old jobs at the coffee chain—and as a chef in Italian restaurant Scalini’s in Belfast.

“I help out with all the customers,” he says of his job at Starbucks. “I’ve been doing that a long time. It’s nice.”

Martin, who found fame appearing in BBC show Ups And Downs, is also proud of the skills he has picked up at Scalini’s: “I can make garlic bread, meatballs, salads and mussels, chips and stuff like that.”

Speaking about being an actor with Down’s syndrome, Martin—who lives with his parents in Belfast—said: “Anybody can act, it doesn’t matter if you have Down’s syndrome. Take Stephen Hawking [who had motor neuron disease] in the Simpsons. He was a fantastic actor, he knew what he was doing but you just have to treat him like an adult. I always say to people never judge a book by its cover.”

Martin says that he is often mistaken for another star who has it, Tommy Jessop from Line Of Duty.

“I would love to meet Tommy again, it would be nice to work with him and get to know him. (…). It would be really nice if he could present an Oscar to me, it would be really nice for that to happen,” he added.

The 95th Oscar’s ceremony will take place on March 12, and comedian Jimmy Kimmel has been selected as its host for the third time.

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