10 interesting facts about Martin Henderson

10 interesting facts about Martin Henderson

Martin Henderson is a famous actor who is well known for his skills in Acting. However, there is more to him than just acting. He has other different passions and this article is dedicated to showing you other interesting facts about him.

1. Was born in New Zealand

A picture of Martin Henderson by MsMidha-Wikimedia

Martin was born in Auckland, New Zealand on 8^th October 1974 holding both American and New Zealand nationality. His father is Ian Henderson while his mother’s name is veronica Henderson. He has one brother and his parents divorced when he was five years old.

He is best known in New Zealand for his acting skills and career.

2. Refused to go to university

The actor first went to Birkenhead Primary School and then attended Westlake boys High school in Forest Hill Auckland, during this time he was interested in rugby and used to play for his high school team. The actor turned down going to university in favour of acting. He was never interested in knowledge or graduating from college so he didn’t attend one.

3. Started acting while he was young

A picture of Actor Martin Henderson. Photo by Axelle-EW

The actor started acting when he was 13 years old. He was a local star thanks to his role in “Shortland Street” TV series shot between 19992 and 1995. He also appeared in several Australian films and production like “Echo Point” which was produced by the southern star group and “Home Away “which was also a soap opera before moving to the united states in 1997 to pursue a career in Hollywood film.

His early fame made him comfortable and so he was looking for a new opportunity to grow. This was after he started realizing he was slowly losing his passion for acting.

4. He was roommates with the famous Heath Ledger

When the actor first moved to the United States things were very difficult for him. He was completely broke and used to sleep on the couch of rooms he shared with friends. He faced rejection after rejection and his father was urging him to return home where various acting gigs were waiting for him.

He might have given in if not for meeting Heath ledger who lent him money and gave him a home where they lived as roommates Heath’s success became his motivation to stay in the US. After Heath’s death due to a drug overdose, the actor was shaken to the core and wondered what he was doing with his life.

5. He loves dogs

A picture of a dog by Patrick Alexander-Wikimedia

Martin Henderson has a dog named Sammy, the actor has a private life but if there is one thing he is not shy about is his love for his dog. It’s no secret that the actor loves to spend some quality time with his dog. He loves sailing the ocean with his dog and most likely you will find him having fun moments with Sammy when he is not on set. He posts many adorable pictures of the two on his Instagram page with the caption expressing his devotion and love for the dog. Both the dog and the actor seem happy and enjoy each other’s company.

6. Accomplished baker

The Actor recently started a cooking handle on his Instagram page. He shares several cooking videos with his followers flaunting his cooking skills.  The videos show him cooking amazing delicacies. A recent video shows him baking with his “virgin river” co-actor and they seem to be having fun. The show has fans hooked, some of the recipes shared include blueberry cornmeal cake and sourdough loaf.

The actor is active on social media and has a large number of followers both on his Twitter handle and Instagram.

7. He is a charitable person

Martin Henderson is not only talented but also kind-hearted, he helped raise more than 1.4 million dollars for paediatric cancer research at Children Hospital Los Angeles, by running the Nautica Malibu Triathlon in California.

The run was in Memory of Henderson’s father-in-law, George Simpson who died of cancer some years back.

8. Won different awards

As a result of his talent, the actor has won recognition from fans. In 1993 he won an award for best male dramatic performance in a Television show in Newzealand for the role in “Shotland Street”. He also got nominated for the Australian Film Institute Award for best performance in a supporting role as “Tom Bradshow” in the film “kick”.

He also got nominated for other awards like AFI Awards for best-supporting Actor “Little Fish”(2005), AFI International Awards for Best Actor “House M.D” (2004) and FCCA Awards for Best Actor in the supporting role “Little Fish”(2005).

9. He faced difficulties in his career

Because the actor wanted to make his career even bigger, he moved to New York but once he got there, he didn’t get any roles for an entire year he ended up studying acting at the “Neighbourhood playhouse” for the next two years.

His noticeable roles after later moving from New York to Los Angeles were in the 2005 romantic movies “Bride and Prejudice” and “Little fish “both of which won awards. He also appeared in a movie called “Flyboys” in 2006 alongside James Franco and Jean Reno. He is well known for his role as Dr Nathan Riggs in the series “Grey’s Anatomy”.

10.  He was part of a commercial and a music video

Toxic Logo by Spieler-Wikimedia

Martin appeared in Britney Spears’s music video “Toxic” in 2005 as her boyfriend. The actor’s first paying gig was a Fanta commercial and the job needed someone with an Australian accent so he was a perfect fit however he didn’t have a social security number at that time, and therefore he never got paid for the job. Coca-Cola Company still owes him 3000 dollars, he says.