Meet James Martin, the First Actor With Down Syndrome to Win an Oscar

When James Martin was born, doctors told his parents that he might never speak. However, he did not only learn to speak, but 31 years later, on his birthday, he walked on Hollywood’s biggest stage to collect his Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film, An Irish Goodbye. James became the first actor with Down syndrome to win an Academy Award. And, as icing on the cake, the entire audience sang “Happy Birthday” to him.

James Martin never let his condition hold him back.

James Martin’s father, Ivan Martin, is very proud of his son and revealed that he does everything with great gusto, and he’s very glad that his efforts have paid off.

“He has spent his life pushing the envelope. People are very good at saying, ’You can’t do this, and you can’t do that’… He’s done it, and he does it consistently,” he said.

Martin is the first person with Down syndrome to win not just a BAFTA but an Oscar too, and he’s very proud of himself. “It doesn’t matter if you have Down syndrome, as long as you’re doing what you do. I do what I can to be funny,” he said.

His girlfriend also supports him and says the win was a magical moment. “It shows to everyone that it’s changing your mindset on how people with disabilities can achieve as much as everyone else can,” she declared.

For the past 10 years, Martin has been working at Starbucks.

His co-workers and manager at Starbucks are very proud of Martin and his acting success, and to support him, good-luck posters were placed in the coffee chain’s city stores.

However, Martin’s dad revealed that despite the fame, he doesn’t see his son quitting his job as a barista anytime soon.

Martin caught the acting bug after he joined the Belfast-based Babosh theatre company for children with learning disabilities.

There, Martin did all types of shows, and he enjoyed every moment spent there. This was a stepping stone for him, as he later managed to land the lead role in Ups and Downs, starring alongside actress Susan Lynch.

Martin then went on to land a role in the series, Marcella, but his role in An Irish Goodbye, which won him both a BAFTA and an Oscar, is his most high-profile role to date.

Preview photo credit MICHAEL TRAN/AFP/East News, An Irish Goodbye / First Flights and co-producers

Man shows up to his wedding in jeans and t-shirt – people on the internet give opinions

For most people, their wedding is one of the most special days in their lives. However, for some people, it can be pretty… casual. This man is getting a lot of opinions for what he decided to wear.

Keep reading to know what went down…A wedding is usually a serious affair. Most brides and grooms give out strict instructions on what to wear and what the dress code will be. However, at this wedding, the groom himself wore something which no one expected.

A TikTok creator uploaded a video of her friend Catherine’s wedding. She wrote how her friend swore just a few months ago that she was not going to fall in love. But then she wrote, how her friend was definitely in love that summer.A still from that picture has landed on Reddit, where people have a lot of opinions, and not a lot of them are kind. In the screenshot, the bride can be seen in a gorgeous white wedding mermaid-style gown, with a traditional veil and heavy jewelry. While the groom looks incredibly casual in a black t-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers.

The contrast between the couple’s choice of clothing had a lot of tongues wagging.

“Grooms wearing jeans at a fancy wedding,” the photo was captioned on Reddit.

“This is probably indicative of the amount of effort he’ll put into the marriage as well,” one person added.

“I wonder how long this marriage lasted. She looks great, he looks like he couldn’t care,” another person gave their two cents.

“He’s just letting her know she has a life of him not giving a f— about her ahead of her,” another commenter vehemently agreed.

“She looks absolutely beautiful, I love her dress. Not sure what their circumstances are but I wish them both the best,” one commenter shared their thoughts.

“Dunno. Maybe she wanted a dress like this, [he] wanted the outfit he had on their first dates, both are happy the other is dressed as they like,” another commenter speculated. “Over or underdressed for some standards, well dressed for their own standard.”

A third commenter added in unison, writing, “If they are happy, then who cares? If the groom just couldn’t be a–ed then that’s very sad.”

Whatever it may be, we hope the married couple is happy in their life together! People can make all sorts of decisions; some that we might not agree with. But as long as they are happy, that’s all that matters!

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