James Geoffrey Ian Norton is an English actor best known for appearing in Grantchester, Happy Valley and McMafia.
Who is James Norton engaged to?
38-year-old James and his now fiancé, Imogen Poots, 34, have been dating since 2018. It was reported that the pair decided to move into James' London home amid the coronavirus pandemic lockdown and they announced their engagement in February 2022!
He previously dated Irish actress and singer Jessie Buckley between 2015 and 2017.
James Norton on social media
For behind the scenes sneak peeks into James' day to day life, you can follow him on Instagram: @jginorton.
James Norton is also has an X account (formerly known as Twitter).
James Norton's TV and movie roles
Happy Valley
Arguably one of his most popular TV roles, James plays villain Tommy Lee Royce alongside Sarah Lancashire in the BBC drama series Happy Valley. James previously revealed to The Guardian that he received a lot of death threats following the role, saying: "Playing Tommy Lee Royce, I’d get death threats buying milk in my local shop."
We were excited to hear that James will be returning to the third and very final series of Happy Valley which will begin filming in 2022, and it's likely to reach our screens early 2023, with six episodes in the series.
In the new series, Catherine (Sarah) discovers the remains of a gangland murder victim in a drained reservoir. It sparks a chain of events that again unwittingly leads her straight back to Tommy.
On his return, James said: "To take on Tommy one final time is a wonderful and daunting privilege, and something I've been looking forward to since we wrapped the last series, six years ago."
Grantchester
The fourth series of Grantchester was unfortunately James's last series playing Sidney Chambers.
As a touching goodbye, James Norton's real life family appeared in his final season of Grantchester. The 33-year-old actor welcomed his family onto set whilst filming the upcoming fourth series and admitted while his father always lands a cameo in his projects, he managed to get his mother and aunts on camera too this time.
Speaking to Whats On TV, he said: "Yes, in fact this is a bit embarrassing: we've got a scene where there's a big outdoor fete and not only is my dad coming, but my mum and my two aunts as well!
"They've been begging me the whole time, 'Please can we?' So my Aunt Bridget and Aunt Alison are going to be people visiting the fete."
While he was sad to say goodbye to the ITV detective drama, James revealed he is looking forward to continuing his role as Tommy Lee Royce on popular series Happy Valley, and moving into work on the big screen.
He added: "Sally Wainwright is writing a third series of Happy Valley and I'm starting to venture into film, so it feels like the right time to challenge myself.
"I fancy an adventure - I'd love to spend a bit more time in New York or LA, I'm open to opportunities."
Playing Nice
James Norton's upcoming ITV drama centres around the moral quandary of two couples who learn that their toddlers have been accidentally switched at birth. The cast also includes Niamh Algar, James McArdle and Jessica Brown Findlay.
The psychological thriller will be produced by STUDIOCANAL and Rabbit Track Pictures (which is James' production company that he co-founded with Kitty Kaletsky).
James Norton films
James has enjoyed a lucrative film career, starring in films such as Belle, Mr Jones and Little Women.
Nowhere Special
He also starred in the 2021 film Nowhere Special.
In this role, James plays a terminally ill single parent, choosing a family to adopt his young son.
Understandably, James felt very emotional about the role, telling the BBC, "It made me cry when I read the script".
The very touching story was the idea of director, writer and producer Uberto Pasolini, who after reading a story in the newspaper of a man with terminal cancer, who spent his final months finding a foster family for his child, wanted to turn the story into a film.
Bob Marley: One Love
James Norton plays Chris Blackwell (the Jamaican-British record producer and founder of Island Records) in the film Bob Marley: One Love, based on the iconic reggae musician's life.
Kinglsey Ben-Adir is playing Bob Marley and Lashana Lynch plays Rita Marley.
James Norton theatre
Since 2007, James Norton has had roles in many theatre shows and has even won awards for some of his performances.
A Little Life
In 2023, James Norton took on the role gruelling role of Jude St Francis in the adaptation of Hanya Yangihara's bestselling novel A Little Life, where he stared alongside Bridgerton's Luke Thompson, Omari Douglas (from It's A Sin) and Zachary Wyatt.
Set in New York, it follows the story of four college friends as they go through the ups and (mainly) downs of life, their worlds pivoting together through their love of Jude St. Francis, a man shrouded in mystery.
Taking to Instagram, James said, "The last few months have been incredibly rewarding and challenging. I would not have been able to get through it without these wonderful souls. Our A Little Life company is a very special one."
In 2024, James won 'Best Performer in a Play' at the WhatsOnStageAwards for his portrayal of Jude.
Could he be the next bond?
While nothing has been confirmed as of yet, James is bookies' favourite to play James Bond after Daniel Craig leaves the role.
Hollywood actress Diane Keaton told Sky News that James would be perfect for the role: "He's got everything that you need. First of all he's extremely attractive, very smart, he's well educated, and he's a fantastic actor. And he's sexy, right? I'm not wrong, I mean women are gonna love him.”
How tall is James Norton?
James is fairly tall, with a height of 6ft 1in (1.85m).
Emily Gilbert is a Features and Review Editor for Mother&Baby and Yours and has written for the website and previously the magazine for six years. Specialising in product reviews, Emily is the first to know about all the exciting new releases in the parenting industry.