Norton: The Russian mafia doesn’t scare me
After the reaction to his role in ‘Happy Valley’, the star of a new Russian mafia drama says he’s not scared
James Norton has brushed off fears of a backlash over his new crime series Mcmafia, which exposes the inner workings of Russian organised crime. He says he will take it in his stride after previous death threats over his role as a villain in Happy Valley
JAMES NORTON, the British actor, says he is not afraid about appearing in a new drama about the Russian mafia, as he has already received death threats for playing a villain in Happy Valley.
Norton, who is being tipped to play the next James Bond, starred in the Bafta-winning crime drama as Tommy Lee Royce, a psychopath and violent ex-convict who abducts and ties up a young woman.
He revealed that his portrayal of the character led to death threats from members of the public, meaning he has no concerns about his safety when Mcmafia, the BBC’S new big-budget drama, airs in January.
“Some people have asked me if I’m worried about getting death threats for exposing how the Russian mafia works,” Norton told Radio Times.
“That would be nothing new. Playing Tommy Lee Royce, I’d get death threats buying milk in my local shop.”
Norton, 32, will play the lead role in Mcmafia, the corporation’s forthcoming adaptation of the bestselling non-fiction book about organised crime syndicates by British journalist Misha Glenny.
The actor, who starred as Prince Andrei Bolkonsky in the BBC’S celebrated adaptation of War and Peace, is to play the role of Alex Godman, the son of a former Russian mafia boss.
Having been brought up in Britain, Godman tries to forge a legitimate career, before being suddenly confronted with his parents’ criminal past and drawn into the murky underworld of organised crime. Norton says that his character, a young hedge fund manager in London, is “neither a villain nor a hero”, but is just a normal man, “trying to do the right thing”.
“He’s not really in full control of each choice,” Norton said. “You identify with him, you want him to succeed, you want him to survive – but then the darkness starts to take hold. He’s complicated.”
As regards his chances of playing another famously complicated character – James Bond – Norton said rumours currently doing the rounds are “total speculation”. He said: “It’s really humbling and flattering, but to have my name next to the likes of Tom Hardy and Michael Fassbender is just mad. If you’re thinking of putting a bet on me, keep your money.”
Norton has previously said he was disturbed to receive romantically obsessive messages from women on social media following his role in Happy Valley. He said that while the first series was being broadcast on television, he was contacted by fans on Twitter who were drawn to his character. One fan even messaged Norton, asking him to: “Take me to your cellar.” At the time, he said: “People create their own fantasies around figures like Tommy. I read some case studies and it’s very common, this instinct to save these broken souls. People are drawn to darkness.
“I can’t stand ‘outside’ and be cynical or judgmental about him [Tommy Lee Royce]. In his head, every hit, every rape, is about survival. The reason why we love things like Happy Valley is that we are obsessed by the extreme edges of life.”
The son of teachers, Norton was educated by Benedictine monks at Ampleforth College in Yorkshire and went on to read theology at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge where he graduated with first-class honours. He later studied at RADA.