James Norton (actor)

James Norton
Norton, on Clare College Bridge, Cambridge during filming for Grantchester, 2015
Born	James Geoffrey Ian Norton (1985-07-18) 18 July 1985 (age 31) London, England, UK
Residence	Peckham, London
Education	Ampleforth College, Yorkshire (independent Roman Catholic boarding school)
Alma mater	Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present
Known for	Happy Valley (2014-Present) Grantchester (2014-Present) War & Peace (2016)
Home town	Ryedale, Malton, North Yorkshire
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)

James Geoffrey Ian Norton (born 18 July 1985) is an English actor. He is best known for roles in the British TV series Happy Valley, Grantchester and War & Peace. For his role as ex-convict Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, Norton was nominated for the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in 2015.

Norton was born in London, the son of Lavinia Jane (Norman) and Hugh Biddulph Norton. His parents were both teachers; his father, who was born in Tanzania, was a Lecturer at Hull School of Art and Design. Though originally from London, Norton's family lived in the town of Malton in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire. Norton described his childhood as "idyllic", a time where he lived at the edge of the Howardian Hills in North Yorkshire.

Norton was educated at Ampleforth College, a Roman Catholic (Benedictine) boarding independent school in the village of Ampleforth in North Yorkshire, where he excelled in theatre and tennis. He did work experience at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough when he was 15.

Starting in 2004, Norton read Theology at Fitzwilliam College at the University of Cambridge, graduating in 2007 with First Class Honours. Norton received a Fitzwilliam Travel Grant to travel to Northern India, to teach and perform for schoolchildren at 16 schools.