James Norton

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Birth Name:

James Geoffrey Ian Norton

Height:

185 cm

James Norton was born in 1985 to two teachers and has a younger sister who is a doctor. Growing up in North Yorkshire he espoused acting at a very early age - playing Joseph in his primary school nativity play aged five - and, after leaving Ampleforth College he did work experience at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. Rather than go straight to acting school he read theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge and then travelled to Nepal, where he became interested in Buddhism. On return he enrolled at RADA in London, graduating in 2010 and, just before graduating bagging a (very) small part as Carey Mulligan's boyfriend in the final scene of 'An Education'. In 2011 he appeared on the London stage in revivals of 'Journey's End' and 'The Lion in Winter' with Joanna Lumley and Robert Lindsay. At the tail end of 2013 he was in the faux-Austen mystery 'Death Comes To Pemberley' on television but 2014 has been the year when he became known to a wider audience via the period films 'Mr Turner' and 'Belle' as the heroine's first love interest and most particularly violent serial 'Happy Valley' as a murderous kidnapper and rapist and, by contrast in the post-war set whodunit series 'Grantchester' as a tipsy young vicar with a penchant for solving cases. Show less «

If it's a sunny day, I get this weird guilt if I'm not making the most of it, so I'll walk or go for a swim or get on my bike, or I'll go to...Show more »

If it's a sunny day, I get this weird guilt if I'm not making the most of it, so I'll walk or go for a swim or get on my bike, or I'll go to the Heath, just have a reason to get out. Show less «

Obviously I have a relationship with religion, because I went to a Catholic school and studied theology. I can't call myself religious, but ...Show more »

Obviously I have a relationship with religion, because I went to a Catholic school and studied theology. I can't call myself religious, but I'm definitely fascinated by it. Show less «

For any actor, it's a great privilege to play a character that is very distant from yourself.

I think the mistake lots of people make when it comes to a psychopath is that they completely write off their actions as cruel, callous and ...Show more »

I think the mistake lots of people make when it comes to a psychopath is that they completely write off their actions as cruel, callous and completely calculated, but actually, the truth is that they have interests and reasons behind their actions. Show less «

When I got into drama school, that's when I knew that I could safely say that I wanted to be a professional actor.

I love, when I'm on holiday in cities, going into church and feeling that reverence and that kind of automatic respect: the sort of magic wh...Show more »

I love, when I'm on holiday in cities, going into church and feeling that reverence and that kind of automatic respect: the sort of magic which exists in those kind of religious temples. Show less «

It takes a lot of courage, when everyone is asking you what you want to do, if you say that you want to be a musician or an actor; people ca...Show more »

It takes a lot of courage, when everyone is asking you what you want to do, if you say that you want to be a musician or an actor; people can be very condescending and say, 'Oh, that's so sweet, good luck with that!' It can be very frustrating. Show less «

I grew up in the countryside, so I had quite a feral life up until the age of about fourteen.

As far as people I'd like to work with, the list is endless. I think to work with Steve McQueen would be amazing, and then some of the U.K. ...Show more »

As far as people I'd like to work with, the list is endless. I think to work with Steve McQueen would be amazing, and then some of the U.K. talent we have: Eddie Marsan, Olivia Colman, both of whom I have met and admired for a long time. We're very blessed in this country; there is so much talent for people to work with and learn from. Show less «

Being in a person's head for five months, where they're so hateful, is kind of exhausting.

I had the acting bug from a very early age.

You don't want a character who sits on an even playing field the whole time.

I love good stories; you have to have a good plot - characters which intertwine with a good plot.

For a long time I had a vintage stall, where I sold men's vintage clothing, and my girlfriend was convinced it was just to do with a problem...Show more »

For a long time I had a vintage stall, where I sold men's vintage clothing, and my girlfriend was convinced it was just to do with a problem I had where I just couldn't stop buying senseless clothes, even if they didn't fit me. Show less «

When I was playing a psychopath in Happy Valley (2014) it was really weird.

I grew up in North Yorkshire, but now London is home.

I do a mean mouth trumpet.

Happy Valley (2014) has really changed things for me.

I crashed my bicycle on the way to my first date with my ex-girlfriend and was cautioned by the police.

If you compare the violence in Happy Valley (2014) to the violence in something like Game of Thrones (2011), it's nothing. But it is shockin...Show more »

If you compare the violence in Happy Valley (2014) to the violence in something like Game of Thrones (2011), it's nothing. But it is shocking because it's so real and grounded. The characters could live next door to you - they're not in a remote fantasy world. Show less «

We live in secular world now, but most of our art and culture is rooted in religion.

Half of what creates psychopaths is genetic, but the other half is conditioning.

Kids used to come round to my house, and I'd force them to do a play in the bay windows of my house and get all the mums and dads to sit and...Show more »

Kids used to come round to my house, and I'd force them to do a play in the bay windows of my house and get all the mums and dads to sit and watch. I'd write the program, write the play and be the star. Show less «

I wanted to do a degree in something I was interested in before going into acting.

Part of the reason that I love Grantchester (2014) is that it's a show in which the hero is a man of faith. He's not a comic device or a vil...Show more »

Part of the reason that I love Grantchester (2014) is that it's a show in which the hero is a man of faith. He's not a comic device or a villain. He's just a very normal, very sympathetic young man who most people can identify with. Show less «

My love life right now is infinitely less interesting than that of any of my characters.

On marriage and fatherhood: I definitely want that, because my sister and I were raised in a really close family and my parents are still ve...Show more »

On marriage and fatherhood: I definitely want that, because my sister and I were raised in a really close family and my parents are still very much in love and living in Yorkshire. That's the kind of end game that I would love, too. Show less «

But, still, being at Ampleforth, and then going on to study theology at Cambridge, gave me a lack of cynicism about faith and a respect and ...Show more »

But, still, being at Ampleforth, and then going on to study theology at Cambridge, gave me a lack of cynicism about faith and a respect and fascination for all religions. Show less «

You're a little boy in a testosterone-fuelled world - and, in my case, one who was into arts and music when everyone else was into rugby. So...Show more »

You're a little boy in a testosterone-fuelled world - and, in my case, one who was into arts and music when everyone else was into rugby. So you're standing on the pitch going 'Oh, my God!' I look back now and it seems ridiculous but, at the time, it felt quite big. Show less «

Teenage years are tricky for everyone, but when you're 15 and it's an all-boys boarding school, as it was then, and you go through puberty l...Show more »

Teenage years are tricky for everyone, but when you're 15 and it's an all-boys boarding school, as it was then, and you go through puberty late, it makes a huge difference. Show less «