“Wikipedia” entry:
James Norton (born 1985) is a British film, television and stage actor. He is originally from London and has also lived in Yorkshire.[1][2] He played the lead role of Captain Stanhope in the 2011 revival of Journey’s End, and he has appeared in the films Rush, Belle and Mr. Turner. His television roles include Onegin in an episode of Doctor Who, Henry Alveston in the BBC historical drama Death Comes to Pemberley, and ex-convict kidnapper Tommy Lee Royce in the 2014 BBC crime drama Happy Valley.
orton was educated at Ampleforth College,[3] a Roman Catholic (Benedictine) boarding independent school in the village of Ampleforth in North Yorkshire. He did work experience at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarboroughat age 15.[4] Starting in 2004, he read Theology at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge.[3] 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.[5] Norton then went on to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London for three years, graduating in 2010.[
Norton had a bit part in the film An Education starring Carey Mulligan in 2009.[6] He was an original cast member of Posh at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010.[7] 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.”[8]
In 2011, Norton starred as Captain Stanhope in the classic First World War drama Journey’s End. 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.[2] 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.[6]
In the 2012 period film Cheerful Weather for the Wedding, Norton played Owen, the would-be groom of a conflicted bride.[9] 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 lady in 18th century English society.[10]
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.”[11] As the series came to its dramatic conclusion, Norton commented, “8 million people are currently wishing me dead.”[11]
In the ITV series Grantchester, based on the novels by James Runcie, Norton plays crime-solving vicar Sidney Chambers alongside Robson Green as Police Inspector Geordie Keating.[12] He also appears in the 2014 filmsNorthmen: A Viking Saga and Mr. Turner, a biographical drama on the life of the artist J. M. W. Turner by director Mike Leigh.
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