The actor, who takes centre stage this week in the eagerly awaited Netflix series The House of Guinness, is a favourite to become the next James Bond
Already ruling Sunday nights as Harold II in BBC1 period drama King & Conqueror, from Thursday, James Norton will be starring in Netflix series The House of Guinness.
Yet the actor who leaves most viewers shaken but not stirred has ruled himself out of playing James Bond. “I think I am too old. I turned 40 this summer,” he says, adding that he thinks casting directors will “go younger” for the next Bond.
And while the rumour mill is rife that he’s being lined up as 007, he insists: “There is no conversation going on. It is as if someone has a bet on in Wolverhampton and it is nonsense and I have paps (paparazzi) outside my door. It is all speculation.”
Even if he was offered Bond, James would have reservations about accepting it. “It is a difficult decision as it will change your life,” he says, adding that, he likes the fact he isn’t instantly recognisable. I can walk down to the pub. I like my life right now.
“I have no idea what it is like to be Leonardo di Caprio. I imagine the apex is pretty big, but I like the fact I can leave my house and go down to the shop.”
Dominating our autumn TV schedules, superstar status can’t be far off for Norton, who also has a top secret project on the way.
“I am starting another job later in the autumn, which is for a long time…and I can’t say what it is. I would love to tell you but it will be out there soon,” he says.
In King & Conqueror, the 6-part series that started last weekend, he plays King Harold II, who fights a bloody battle for the English throne against William The Conqueror (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau), culminating in the infamous 1066 Battle of Hastings.
The project is the latest from James’s own production company Rabbit Track Pictures.
He says: “I am one of those people that thrives under pressure and the more you put on my plate the more efficient I am. It is kind of fun if you are proud of the piece and I am proud of King & Conqueror, as I produced it.”
And he sought to make the production as authentic as possible.
He laughs: “I wore six or seven layers of leather for the role, which you don’t see, but it was an attempt of authenticity. I don’t know how those guys back then even walked. We were shooting in Iceland as well, so it was wonderful to have those layers.”
Norton takes issue with actors who call themselves “executive producers” but do very little on set and makes sure he always does enough to justify the title.
He also praises Margot Robbie, who he says completely deserves the rank.
He says: “Margot Robbie is an executive producer and she is incredible and works very hard. There are a lot of times you see an executive producer as an actor and they have not been part of the process, basically.”
A versatile performer, Norton’s role in The House of Guinness is completely different to playing King Harold.
Set in 19th century Dublin and New York – and dubbed ‘the Irish Peaky Blinders’ – the eight-part series charts family power struggles within the Irish brewing dynasty, following the death of patriarch Benjamin Guinness.
James plays Guinness factory foreman Sean Rafferty and oversees four Guinness heirs, locked in a bitter battle to take over their father’s brewery empire.
He laughs: “It is kind of like The Crown…but with beer. It is like Succession but you could call this “Sup-session”.
“I play Rafferty who is like the proper hardman, a Dubliner. He is the foreman of the brewery and I was like the only non Irish actor.
“Most of the cast are Irish and I played the most Irish and it was scary. I worked hard. I had a northern Irish accent which made it more complicated.
“It is Steven Knight (creator of Peaky Blinders) and he relished writing my role. I get to be the coolest mother f*cker, playing the gangster in Dublin 1860s and everyone fears him. I literally have to do nothing.”
His character is not unlike that of Thomas Shelby, made famous by Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders.
James says: “I have a scene where I walk away from an explosion. I do minimal effort. The foreman of the brewery runs the show. He is a bit of a gangster and he lives in a violent world and he is not uncomfortable using violence to keep his grip.
“But Steven Knight is the best. He writes like a playwright and he jumps scenes. You are completely compelled. It was an amazing thing for me to do. Will there be a second series? It all depends on numbers, so go and watch it. Nothing is guaranteed at the moment.”
Norton worries that there is too much choice at the moment on screening platforms.
He says: “I read somewhere recently that if you have more than seven things to choose from your mind just switches off. It’s like having eight types of cheese.”
He greatly appreciates not only having acting work, but also having his production company to fall back on in what has always been a notoriously precarious profession.
And he admits: “I am an actor through and through. I have this bug.”
Shows like Happy Valley and Grantchester cemented Norton’s success, but he takes nothing for granted.
He says: “We have seen a contraction of the industry. Since the streamer explosion we have seen a massive downturn in the amount of money and advertising revenue. Every business is squeezed right now.
“Now to get anything made, it has to be really good.
“We recently had a job become available at our company for someone who has just left university and we had 850 applicants. It was mad. The demand has not waned, but the space has.”
The TV and film industries also face a reduction in technical jobs, because of the advance of AI.
Asked if he fears being replaced by a bot, he laughs: “I have not seen a deep fake me. Maybe it exists!
“But I think AI will affect crews and supporting artists.”
As for bots in general? He says: “I guess they are getting close to portraying the soul of a human being and it is really scary.”
But Norton is fairly certain that AI will not replace the soul of the UK film and TV industry and is deeply proud that UK programmes are leading the world.
Seeing Netflix drama Adolescence sweep the board at the Emmy Awards in Los Angeles was a particularly proud moment for him.
He says: “The world is in a really dark place right now and people are looking to the arts to process fear and uncertainty and find answers and that is a wonderful thing.
“Yet people get nervous if you go for the jugular of the problem. But look at Adolescence. It went for the jugular and it became the biggest show in the world and made billions. It is insane that show.
“In terms of the UK, we have a cultural heritage of honesty, particularly in the arts and we cut through.
“Brand Britain is struggling as is brand America, as is brand a lot of the world, but I also think in terms of the arts we are in a really strong place. Britain is in a good place and I am proud to be a part of that.”
The House of Guinness premieres on Netflix from Thursday. King & Conqueror is on BBC1, Sundays at 9.15pm.
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