Martin Freeman’s son Joe is set to follow in his actor father’s footsteps as he prepares to hit the stage in a production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie in Tunbridge Wells.
With Martin, 51, starring in The Office, The Hobbit and Fargo and his mother, Amanda Abbington, 48, appearing in Sherlock and West End hit The Unfriend, it’s probably no surprise that Joe Freeman is starting a career in show -business.
The 17-year-old is currently a cast member in a version of the fluid musical specially adapted for a teenage cast in the town of Kent, and is apparently set to follow in their footsteps professionally.
Inspired by the 2011 British TV documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie follows the real-life story of a 16-year-old British schoolboy named Jamie Campbell who lives on a housing estate in Sheffield.
Jamie is seen overcoming prejudice and bullying to pursue her dream of becoming a drag queen.
Step into the limelight: Martin Freeman’s son Joe, 17, is set to follow in his actor father’s footsteps as he prepares to appear in a production of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie
The teenager aims to attend prom wearing a dress, eyeliner and lipstick.
Her mother buys her red heels and a dress of her choice in a shop run by a former drag queen.
But while Jamie may have the support of a parent, his father cruelly rejects his effeminate son while a class bully taunts him for his wishes, and the school itself gets in the way.
Movie star Martin shares his two children – Joe and his 14-year-old sister Grace – with ex-partner Amanda.
The former couple co-parented their offspring after splitting in 2016 after 16 years together.
While Martin may be happy his son is following him, he previously admitted to struggling with the prospect of his children flying into a nest.
The star admitted it was “totally natural” for teenagers to want to spend time without him, but it’s hard not to get upset about it.
Asked about his children flying into the nest, he told the Radio Times: “Me and their mother [Amanda] don’t live together, so there are times when they inevitably won’t be with you, or when they say, “Maybe not this weekend.”
In his blood? With Martin, 51, starring in The Office, The Hobbit and Fargo, it’s probably no surprise that Joe Freeman is beginning a career in show business (LR: Joe, Martin’s current partner, Rachel Mariam, Martin and the daughter of Martin Grace)
On stage: Joe is currently a cast member in a version of the fluid musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie specially adapted for a teenage cast in Kent
“It’s hard not to feel hurt when they start doing things that don’t involve you, even though you understand and welcome it because it’s completely natural.”
Martin admitted parenthood left him “surprised” at how “incredibly quick” he could be to get angry, so he always tried to be “better”.
He said: “I found I was incredibly quick to anger. I always knew that, but it was like a rocket ship – no complaints about social services, but I knew I could and had to be better. It surprised me and taught me to try not to be that.
Martin – who is now dating actress Rachel Mariam – doesn’t like the “constant fate” around parenthood because he thinks it’s a much nicer experience than people make it out to be.
He said: “One of my least favorite things is people saying, ‘Oh, just wait! Oh, you’re in trouble now…”
“This constant fate, like they didn’t enjoy any part of parenting. Let’s take advantage!
Former partner: Joe’s mother, actress Amanda Abbington, 48, appeared in Sherlock and West End hit The Unfriend. She and Martin split at the end of 2016 after a 16-year romance (pictured in 2015)
Martin and Amanda previously worked together on Sherlock and the actress – who is now in a relationship with Jonathan Goodwin – has opened up in the past about how they kept their split a secret six months before the news became public.
She told The Sunday Times magazine: “When we broke up nobody knew about it, we didn’t tell anyone except a few key people because they had to know, because of hotel logistics and stuff. “
“It took six months for it to come out and a lot of that happened while we were working on Sherlock… We were professional and we were going to go on and put on a show and be civil to each other.
“We still get along great, we still admire each other as actors…he’s a great guy, but we couldn’t live together anymore.”
Co-stars: Sherlock’s Martin and Amanda starred as on-screen couple Dr John Watson and Mary Watson in the BBC series (pictured in the 2016 season after they split)
