James Norton
Norton in 2015
Born	James Geoffrey Ian Norton (1985-07-18) 18 July 1985 (age 38) London, England[1]
Education	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge (BA) Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present

James Geoffrey Ian Norton^[2] (born 18 July 1985) is an English film, television, and stage actor. He is known for roles in the television series Happy Valley, Grantchester, War & Peace and McMafia. He played the title role in the 2019 film Mr. Jones. He earned a nomination for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2015 for his performance as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley.

Early life and education[edit]

Norton was born in Lambeth, London,^[1] the son of Hugh Biddulph Norton and Lavinia Jane Norman.^[3] His parents were both teachers; his father, who was born in Tanzania, was a lecturer at Hull School of Art and Design.^[4][5] Though originally from London, Norton's family lived in the town of Malton in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire.^[6][7] Norton, who grew up at the edge of the Howardian Hills in North Yorkshire, has described his childhood as "idyllic".^[8] His grandfather, Ian Norton MBE (1923–2003), a colonial official in Tanganyika,^[9] was son of Hugh Ross Norton OBE, Archdeacon of Sudbury from 1945 to 1962; Ian's wife, Jean (1923–2016), was daughter of Colonel Francis John Biddulph, of the Royal Engineers. The Biddulphs were a branch of an Irish landed gentry family.^[10]

Norton was educated at Bramcote Prep School (Scarborough College) in Scarborough until the age of 13 and Ampleforth College,^[2][11] an independent Roman Catholic (Benedictine) boarding school in the village of Ampleforth in North Yorkshire. He did work experience at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough when he was 15.^[5]

Starting in 2004,^[12] Norton read theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, graduating in 2007 with First Class Honours.^[11] Norton received a Fitzwilliam Travel Grant to travel to Northern India, to teach and perform for schoolchildren at 16 schools.^[11] He has said his studies were principally focused on Hinduism and Buddhism.^[2]

Norton was a member of The Marlowe Society theatre club at Cambridge, and in 2007 he played Posthumus in a production of Cymbeline directed by Trevor Nunn for the society's centenary.^[13] Norton has said that he performed in many theatre productions while at university.^[14][15] Norton then attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London for three years, but left in 2010 six months before graduation to take an acting assignment.^[4][16]

Career[edit]

Norton appeared as a classmate of Jenn in the film An Education, starring Carey Mulligan, in 2009.^[16] In 2010 he was an original cast member of Posh at the Royal Court Theatre.^[17] At the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield in 2010, Norton starred in That Face as Henry, an 18-year-old who has dropped out of school to care for his mentally disturbed and drug-dependent mother, played by Frances Barber. Lynne Walker of The Independent wrote of his performance: "At the centre of it all is Henry who, in James Norton's striking portrayal, is like a young caged animal."^[18] In 2011, Norton starred as Captain Stanhope in the First World War drama Journey's End.^[19] The production toured the UK from March to June and transferred to the Duke of York's Theatre in the West End from July to September.^[7] Norton then took the role of Geoffrey in The Lion in Winter at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket directed by Trevor Nunn, with whom Norton had worked at Cambridge in Cymbeline.^[16]

In the 2012 film Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Norton played Owen, the would-be groom of a conflicted bride.^[20] He appeared in the 2013 film Rush as Formula One driver Guy Edwards. In the 2013 film Belle, he played a suitor of the title character, a mixed-race woman in 18th-century English society.^[21] Norton's television appearances include the Doctor Who episode "Cold War", in which he played a crewman on a Soviet submarine during the Cold War, and Death Comes to Pemberley, based on the P. D. James novel involving characters from Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice caught up in a murder mystery. Norton was acclaimed for his role as Tommy Lee Royce, the villain of the hit crime drama Happy Valley. Michael Hogan of The Telegraph wrote: "...the breakout star, seen in only a few small parts before this, has been the devilishly handsome James Norton, 29, as the heinous killer Royce, whom he has played with impressive depth."^[22] As the first series came to its dramatic conclusion, Norton commented, "8 million people are currently wishing me dead."^[22] Norton confirmed he would be appearing in the second series of Happy Valley at the 2015 BAFTAs^[23] and continued in the role in the third series.

From 2014 to 2018 Norton played crime-solving vicar Sidney Chambers alongside Robson Green as Police Inspector Geordie Keating in the ITV series Grantchester, based on the stories by James Runcie.^[24][25] Grantchester was his first starring role.^[26] A second series was broadcast in early 2016. A third series went into production in autumn 2016, and aired in both the UK and the U.S. in late spring and early summer 2017.^[27][28] A fourth series began filming in June 2018, and it was confirmed that this would be Norton's final series.^[29]

He also appeared in the 2014 films Northmen: A Viking Saga and Mr. Turner, a biographical drama on the life of the artist J. M. W. Turner by director Mike Leigh.^[30] In 2015 Norton played Duncan Grant in the BBC Two mini-series about the Bloomsbury Group, Life in Squares.^[30][31][32] In 2016, Norton appeared as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in the BBC miniseries of Andrew Davies' production of War & Peace.^[4][33] The mini-series, a co-production with The Weinstein Company, allowed the cast to film in Russia.^[34]

Between March and May 2016 Norton appeared in Tracy Letts’ Bug in London's West End.^[35] In 2016, he appeared in "Nosedive", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.^[36] Between December 2017 and February 2018 he appeared in Amy Herzog’s Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre.^[37] As part of his preparation for his role in McMafia, Norton studied the Russian martial art and health system Systema.^[38] In 2019, Norton portrayed John Brooke in Greta Gerwig's film adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's novel Little Women.^[39][40]

He was ranked 31 on the Radio Times's TV 100 power list in 2024.^[41]

Personal life[edit]

When asked if he was religious, in the context of portraying a vicar in Grantchester, Norton said: "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".^[15]

In 2015, Norton became a trustee of the Royal Theatrical Support Trust.^[42] Norton has type 1 diabetes.^[2][43]

He was in a romantic relationship with actress Jessie Buckley between 2015 and 2017.^[44] Norton was in a relationship with actress Imogen Poots from 2018 until breaking up before Christmas 2023.^[45] They had been engaged since 2022.^[46]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Video games[edit]

Theatre[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• James Norton at IMDb