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James Norrington
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James Norrington is a fictional character in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy. He is played by English actor Jack Davenport.
rding to the writers' audio commentary from the Curse of the Black Pearl DVD, Norrington was originally written as an evil character intended to join forces with Hector Barbossa, but the idea was later used in Dead Man's Chest, where he betrays his comrades and sides with Cutler Beckett (although he later regrets this action).
In an interview, producer Jerry Bruckheimer stated that Norrington was originally slated to only appear in the first film, but partially due to the positive audience reaction towards the character, and his respect for Davenport, he made him a prominent character in the sequel.
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Encyclopedia
James Norrington is a fictional character in Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean film trilogy. He is played by English actor Jack Davenport.
Character history
According to the writers' audio commentary from the Curse of the Black Pearl DVD, Norrington was originally written as an evil character intended to join forces with Hector Barbossa, but the idea was later used in Dead Man's Chest, where he betrays his comrades and sides with Cutler Beckett (although he later regrets this action).
In an interview, producer Jerry Bruckheimer stated that Norrington was originally slated to only appear in the first film, but partially due to the positive audience reaction towards the character, and his respect for Davenport, he made him a prominent character in the sequel. Davenport's casting came in part from his father, Nigel, being a major character in the 1960s pirate film A High Wind in Jamaica, which both Bruckheimer and director Gore Verbinski enjoyed.
Swordsmanship
According to the Essential Guide to Pirates of the Caribbean, Norrington is feared among pirates for his naval skills and his swordsman abilities. According to the audio commentary from the first Pirates of the Caribbean DVD featuring the scriptwriters commentary, Norrington's swordsmanship is equaled only by Hector Barbossa and surpassed only by Will Turner. At the first film's climax, Norrington personally fights the pirate, Kohler, and kills him after the curse is lifted. In Dead Man's Chest and At World's End, however, the statistics seem to have changed slightly (probably due to his disgrace): he participates in a three-way duel between himself, Will Turner and Jack Sparrow. Even though Will is arguably more skilled, Norrington knocks Will down twice which clearly demonstrated he still retained his abilities, although he himself is knocked over twice during the battle by Sparrow. Norrington is murdered in the third film by Bootstrap Bill Turner as he helps Elizabeth escape the Flying Dutchman.
Weapons
Norrington is skilled in both swordmanship and firearms. His sword, a smallsword with gold filigree in the handle, is a symbolic plot device recurring throughout the films. Accordng to screenplay writer Terry Rossio, it has, "a bit of destiny," about it. The sword was forged by Will Turner, who delivers it to Governor Weatherby Swann in the opening scene of The Curse of the Black Pearl for presentation to Norrington at his promotion to Commodore. At the conclusion of the first film, Norrington uses the sword as a means to express his feelings regarding Elizabeth and Will, despite his being in love with Elizabeth. He remarks to Will, "This is a beautiful sword. I expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life."
In Dead Man's Chest, the sword rests in Norrington's old office in Port Royal, as if it is awaiting its former owner's return. Norrington resigned his commission in disgrace after losing the Dauntless in a hurricane while pursuing Captain Jack Sparrow; the sword becomes a haunting symbol of Norrington's brilliant career before he fell to piracy. Norrington is last seen making his way back to Port Royal, hoping to reclaim his former life.
Finally, in At World's End, Lord Cutler Beckett reunites the newly-promoted Admiral Norrington with an 'old friend' when he presents him with his old sword. But Beckett failed to anticipate the weapon's powerful emotional effect on Norrington—a painful reminder of the honorable man he once was and its strong ties to Elizabeth Swann and, by extension, Will Turner. Norrington's sword ultimately becomes the instrument for his redemption, using it when he frees Elizabeth and her crew from the Flying Dutchman. Tragically, he is mortally stabbed by the deranged "Bootstrap" Bill Turner during the escape. In defiance of Davy Jones' offer of servitude aboard the Flying Dutchman, the dying Norrington spears Jones' shoulder with the sword. The immortal Jones simply extracts the weapon and claims it for himself. In the final battle, Jones confiscates the sword from a marine who happens upon it, just before Jack knocks the blade from Jones' hand - only for Jones to recover it again and stab Will, ironically, the very man who forged it. Will eventually obtains the sword - bringing its ownership full circle.
Fictional biography
Early life
James Norrington appears in the book, Jack Sparrow: 10 - Sins of the Father. When he is about five or six years old, he trails after his father, Admiral Lawrence Norrington, who commands a Royal Navy ship. When young James falls overboard, the pirate, Captain Teague, (Jack Sparrow's father) jumps in and saves him. Admiral Norrington admonishes James for being indebted to a pirate, saying he would rather his son had drowned. Norrington is later seen as a Lieutenant aboard HMS Dauntless when it transports Port Royal's new Governor Weatherby Swann and his young daughter, Elizabeth, to the Caribbean. During the voyage, Norrington expresses his views about pirates to a young Elizabeth, commenting that they deserve a "short drop and a sudden stop," a metaphor for hanging.
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
In the first film, Norrington is introduced as a young Lieutenant on HMS Dauntless as it makes a crossing from England to deliver the new governor to Port Royal. Over the next eight years, he becomes an established figure in Port Royal, rising to the rank of Captain. At the start of the movie proper, he is to be promoted to Commodore and, according to Norrington, the only thing that is now lacking in his life is marriage to a fine woman. Norrington finds Governor Swann's beautiful daughter, Elizabeth, to be such a woman. Not only is she a socially desirable match but someone Norrington truly loves. With Governor Swann's blessing, he proposes to Elizabeth at his promotion ceremony but is interrupted when she faints and falls off the rampart wall into the bay; she is rescued by Captain Jack Sparrow. Unknown to Norrington, Elizabeth secretly harbors romantic feelings for Will Turner, a slightly foolish young blacksmith's apprentice. Norrington opposes her attachment to Turner, but he later helps them and Captain Sparrow in their fight against Captain Barbossa and his evil pirates. In the end, he graciously accepts Elizabeth's decision to be with Will Turner.
Norrington is a skilled, competent officer, but his personality initially seems rigid, snobbish, and slightly bigheaded. However, it becomes apparent that under his somewhat pompous exterior, he is a kind, fair-minded, and compassionate man who eventually comes to discern between what is lawful and what is right. He is also not driven solely by his own goals or needs. This is best demonstrated when he tells Jack Sparrow that he is able to forfeit the fame and prestige to be gained by capturing the Black Pearl, "by remembering that I serve others, Mr. Sparrow, not only myself." When Will interrupts Jack Sparrow's execution, Norrington is hesitant to resume, believing it unjust. He unwittingly provides the wily pirate an escape avenue when Sparrow falls off the rampart and into the bay where he is rescued by his crew. Reluctantly intending to give chase, Norrington allows Jack Sparrow one day's head start, a delay that will adversely affect his own future.
According to the screenwriter's commentary, Norrington is a highly skilled swordsman; his abilities are equal to Captain Barbossa and exceeded only by William Turner.
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
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In the second film, an arrest warrant has been issued by Lord Cutler Beckett for James Norrington's role in Captain Jack Sparrow's escape, but he has since disappeared. Driven by his obsession to capture Sparrow, Norrington's ship fell victim to a violent hurricane that destroyed his vessel. Disgraced, he resigned his commission. He resurfaces in Tortuga when he applies for a position on the Black Pearl, although he first attempts to shoot Sparrow. He has descended into a ragged, drunken, bitter man seeking vengeance against Jack Sparrow and Will Turner, who he blames for his ruin. In a stark contrast to the honroable man in the first film, Norrington is as self-serving and underhanded as any pirate. Overhearing Elizabeth and Sparrow discussing Lord Beckett and a Letters of Marque, documents historically used to pardon the bearer, Norrington plots to steal it. He also suspects that Elizabeth may now prefer Jack over Will, having witnessed their flirtatious encounter.
On Isla Cruces, where the Dead Man's Chest is buried, Norrington accompanies Jack and Elizabeth to dig up the chest. Shortly after, he becomes entangled in a three-way duel with Jack Sparrow and Will Turner in a bid to capture Davy Jones' heart. Norrington hopes to regain his career by presenting the heart and Letters of Marque to Lord Cutler Beckett, who wants the heart to control the seas. Jack hides the heart in the longboat, but, when they are attacked by Davy Jones' crewmen, Norrington finds and takes it. Grabbing the now-empty chest, Norrington deviously feigns that he is saving the others by diverting Jones' crewman into chasing him. Jack is unaware that Norrington is absconding with the heart and the Letter of Marque that grants the bearer clemency.
Davy Jones' crew catch Norrington, who relinquishes the empty chest to them. Believing they have retrieved their captain's heart, the crew let him escape. He reappears in Port Royal, having been found adrift by an East India Trading Company ship. To win back his career, he presents himself and the Letters of Marque to Lord Cutler Beckett. Beckett tells Norrington he will need something valuable to bargain back his former position. Norrington tosses a small pulsating sack onto Beckett's desk and declares it, "The heart of Davy Jones."
In a deleted scene from the movie, Norrington asks Beckett if the heart is enough to restart his career. Beckett declines, claiming that he has something much better in store for Norrington.
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
In the third film, Norrington has a lesser role. Upon delivering the heart of Davy Jones to Cutler Beckett, he is promoted to Admiral in the East India Trading Company's fleet, a decision he now clearly regrets. He is reunited with Elizabeth Swann aboard the Flying Dutchman after she and the Empress crew are captured. He is overjoyed to find her alive, but Elizabeth is hostile, implicating him in her father's murder. Believing that Governor Swann had returned to England, the stunned Norrington denies any knowledge of or complicity in his death. But Elizabeth is unforgiving and rebukes Norrington for collaborating with Lord Beckett, the man who ordered her father's murder. That night, Norrington frees Elizabeth and her crew from the Dutchman's brig, contritely explaining he has chosen a side.
As the crew clambers across the tow line to the Empress, Elizabeth implores Norrington to join them. Norrington, an honorable but flawed man, refuses to desert his crew or his duty. With a farewell kiss, he tells Elizabeth that although their fates were always intertwined, they were never joined. "Bootstrap" Bill Turner discovers the escape and sounds an alarm. Elizabeth makes it to freedom, but Norrington is impaled by "Bootstrap". Davy Jones offers the mortally wounded Norrington a place in his crew, but Norrington defiantly stabs Jones with his sword, dying with his honor fully restored. Unhurt, Jones merely removes the blade and keeps it.
Norrington had a somewhat larger role in earlier script drafts, including forging an alliance with Davy Jones based on their mutual animosity of Lord Beckett (this may explain why Jones offers him a place in his crew before he dies). At least one cut scene appears to have been filmed: Norrington dissuades Governor Swann from stabbing Davy Jones' heart after Jones tells Swann that Elizabeth is dead. Stills from the scene exist, but it was not included with the other deleted scenes on the DVD release.
Merchandise
Action Figure
N.E.C.A. is making James Norrington into an action figure in Series Three of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest series. He is portrayed as about to shoot Jack Sparrow, and his figure includes a pistol, a hat, as well as a sword, though he is not wearing his wig.
Zizzle has made two Norringon action figures, one from the second film wearing his "renegade" garb and another from the third film in his Admiral's uniform.
Playset
Playsets for At World's End depicting the Singapore Escape scene show Admiral Norrington fighting Sao Feng and stealing the map to Davy Jones' locker. The description says that during the opening sequence in Singapore, the East India Trading Company shows up, and a battle erupts on the docks with a lot of fireworks. The playset merchandise is due for release June first.
Other media
- Although he does not make a physical appearance, he is briefly mentioned in Square Enix's
Kingdom Hearts II; When Sora inspects the cannons at the fort in Port Royal, the message says "To be used in case of pirate attack - Commodore Norrington."
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