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 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.
Graduated from ESEC Film School - Paris 1989.
Has often brought his retired father, to appear as an extra on shoots.
Has diabetes mellitus type 1.
His family lived in the town of Malton in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire.
In 2014 bought a house in the Peckham area of London.
Attended the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London for three years, but left 6 months before graduation for an acting role in 2010.
Educated at Ampleforth College, a Roman Catholic (Benedictine) boarding independent school in the village of Ampleforth in North Yorkshire. He excelled in theatre and tennis.
Received a Fitzwilliam Travel Grant to travel to Northern India, to teach and perform for schoolchildren at 16 schools.
From 2004 read Theology at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 2007 with First Class Honors.
Son of Lavinia Jane Norman and Hugh Biddulph Norton, both teachers.
Was a member of the Marlowe Society theatre club at Cambridge.
At the age of 15, worked at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.
His father was born in Tanzania. He was a Lecturer at Hull School of Art and Design.
In 2015, he was made a trustee of the Royal Theatrical Support Trust.
Has one sister.
He has English, Irish, Scottish, Cornish, and one sixteenth Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry, the latter through his direct matrilineal line. Through his Jewish great-great-grandmother, whose family was from Germany and Denmark, James is related to Prime Minister David Cameron , through shared Re ancestors.
Great-grandson of Hugh Ross Norton, who was the Archdeacon of Sudbury, from 1945 to 1962; and of Vice-Admiral Horace Geoffrey Norman, who was an Allied Warship Commander.
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.
I grew up in the countryside, so I had quite a feral life up until the,age of about fourteen.
I had the acting bug from a very early age.
I love good stories; you have to have a good plot - characters which,intertwine with a good plot.
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.
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.
I wanted to do a degree in something I was interested in before going,into acting.
My love life right now is infinitely less interesting than that of any,of my characters.
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.
