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September 5, 2007September 7
September 7, 2007It’s been a month since Thibodaux native Graham Patrick Martin made his first appearance as a regular on “The Bill Engvall Show.”
Across the country, fans of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour-fame comic are tuning in to WTBS Tuesdays at 8 p.m. to watch the antics between Bill Engvall and his family.
Graham, 15, is the son of Cornel and Cindy Martin of Thibodaux. He plays Trent Pearson, Engvall’s oldest son, in the series.
“In the shows, Trent is actually very book smart; you just can’t tell most of the time because of the way he acts,” Graham said. “His interests are similar to mine: football, girls and video games.”
The sitcom casts Engvall as family counselor Bill Pearson, whose family could obviously use a little counseling of its own.
Veteran actress Nancy Travis plays Pearson’s wife. Rounding out the family is Jennifer Lawrence, who plays 18-yearold Lauren, and Skyler Gisando, as 10-year-old Bryan.
The family unit is very similar to Graham’s. “There’s one episode where Trent manipulates his dad into writing an essay. I may have done something a little like that in the past,” the Thibodaux teen confessed.
One of four children, Graham is the second oldest Martin son. The stack includes his sister Samantha, 21, and brothers Corey, 19, and Alex, 12. Graham and Alex are living with mom Cindy in Los Angeles during filming, while dad Cornel runs the Houma Direct Workforce.
His grandparents, Lincoln Sr. and Alfrances Martin, of Golden Meadow, have proudly watched Graham’s performances from the Bayou State.
Graham’s acting career took off in 2006. He appeared in an episode of the immensely popular “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” He landed the audition for the Engvall show the first day he visited Hollywood. A week later, he landed the part after a screen test.
“I never thought I’d be able to do this much stuff,” he said. “We’re shooting a full episode a week. Working eight hours a day is pretty tough, but I’m still having a good time doing it.”
Graham’s also enjoying the new-found fame. “I see people writing online about me in blogs and stuff and that’s weird, but they’re being nice,” he said.
