Jim Norton (actor)
Encyclopedia
Jim Norton is an Irish
character actor
.
men, most notably Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted
, as well as in The Sweeney
(1977), Peak Practice
(1993), Sunset Heights (1997), A Love Divided (1999), Rebus: Black and Blue (2000), Mad About Mambo (2000), and Boxed (2003).
He starred as Finian McLonergan in the critically acclaimed New York City Center's 2009 production of Finian's Rainbow
, revival of Finian's Rainbow
, and in October 2009, reprised the role in the Broadway
revival at the St. James Theatre
. His co-stars were Cheyenne Jackson
(Woody) and Kate Baldwin
(Sharon).
in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation
. Norton appeared in an edition of the highly acclaimed 1970's British television drama series Colditz
, as the librarian Lieutenant James Porteous.
He appeared in two episodes of Van der Valk. On Babylon 5
he appeared in a number of roles including "Ombuds Wellington
" in 1994 episodes "Grail
" and "The Quality of Mercy
"; a Narn
("Dust to Dust
", 1996); and Dr. Lazarenn, a Markab doctor in "Confessions and Lamentations
" (1995). In Fall of Eagles
he played Alexander Kerensky
.
He appeared as O'Brady in National Pelmet, the Series 2 opener of critically acclaimed drama Minder
.
He has appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot
, Waking the Dead
, Cheers
, Frasier
, Midsomer Murders
, Maigret
and Rumpole of the Bailey
as "Fig Newton".
He also played the role of Stan Laurel
in the BBC drama Stan.
, in which he portrays a circus worker called "Camel" who befriends a character played by Robert Pattinson
.
He appeared in the 1969 epic film Alfred the Great
as Thanet.
Norton played the part of "Pongo" in the screen version of Spike Milligan's war-time memoir 'Adolf Hitler. My Part in his Downfall.'
In 1971 he played "Chris Cawsey" (aka "The Rat Man"), one of several villains in the controversial Sam Peckinpah
movie Straw Dogs starring Dustin Hoffman
. His character had a deviously infectious, deliberately irritating laugh that helped build tension throughout the film.(see external links)
He starred in the movie Memoirs of an Invisible Man
alongside Chevy Chase
in 1992.
He appeared in the comedy On the Nose
as Patrick Cassidy, along with Dan Aykroyd and Robbie Coltrane, in 2001.
He appeared in a brief cameo in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
in 2002
as Mr. Mason.
He can also be seen in the 2008
holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
.
He played an Irish immigrant in the 2005 Australian/UK co-production, The Oyster Farmer.
He appeared in the Irish made film into the West.
's The Pillowman
.
In 2006/7 he appeared in Conor McPherson
's The Seafarer
at The National Theatre
, and reprised the same role in the 2008 Broadway theatre
production of the play.
animated serial, Scream of the Shalka
.
He has recorded the whole of James Joyce
's Ulysses
(with Marcella Riordan), Dubliners
, Finnegans Wake
(abridged with Marcella Riordan) and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
for Naxos Records
.
Thorndyke: Forensic Investigator: for BBC 4 Extra 2011
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
character actor
Character actor
A character actor is one who predominantly plays unusual or eccentric characters. The Oxford English Dictionary defines a character actor as "an actor who specializes in character parts", defining character part in turn as "an acting role displaying pronounced or unusual characteristics or...
.
Performances
Jim Norton has been acting for over forty years in theatre, television, and movies, and frequently plays clergyClergy
Clergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
men, most notably Bishop Brennan in the sitcom Father Ted
Father Ted
Father Ted is a comedy series set in Ireland that was produced by Hat Trick Productions for British broadcaster Channel 4. Written jointly by Irish writers Arthur Mathews and Graham Linehan and starring a predominantly Irish cast, it originally aired over three series from 21 April 1995 until 1 May...
, as well as in The Sweeney
The Sweeney
The Sweeney is a 1970s British television police drama focusing on two members of the Flying Squad, a branch of the Metropolitan Police specialising in tackling armed robbery and violent crime in London...
(1977), Peak Practice
Peak Practice
Peak Practice is a British drama series about a GP surgery in Cardale — a small fictional town in the Derbyshire Peak District — and the doctors who worked there. It ran on ITV from 10 May 1993 to 30 January 2002 and was one of their most successful series at the time...
(1993), Sunset Heights (1997), A Love Divided (1999), Rebus: Black and Blue (2000), Mad About Mambo (2000), and Boxed (2003).
He starred as Finian McLonergan in the critically acclaimed New York City Center's 2009 production of Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
, revival of Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow
Finian's Rainbow is a musical with a book by E.Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane. The 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances. Several revivals and a 1968 film version followed. A Broadway revival ran from October 8, 2009 until January 17, 2010...
, and in October 2009, reprised the role in the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
revival at the St. James Theatre
St. James Theatre
The St. James Theatre is located at 246 W. 44th St. Broadway, New York City, New York. It was built by Abraham L. Erlanger, theatrical producer and a founding member of the Theatrical Syndicate, on the site of the original Sardi's restaurant. It opened in 1927 as The Erlanger...
. His co-stars were Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson
Cheyenne Jackson is an American actor and singer. He started in regional theater when he moved to Seattle, and after moving to New York City, made his 2002 Broadway theatre debut understudying both male leads in the Tony Award-winning musical Thoroughly Modern Millie...
(Woody) and Kate Baldwin
Kate Baldwin
-Biography:Born in Evanston, Illinois, Baldwin graduated from the theatre program at Northwestern University in 1997.-Career:Kate Baldwin made her Broadway debut in The Full Monty in 2000, followed by appearances in Thoroughly Modern Millie and Wonderful Town...
(Sharon).
Television
As well as Bishop Brennan in Father Ted, he also played Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
in two episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation
Star Trek: The Next Generation is an American science fiction television series created by Gene Roddenberry as part of the Star Trek franchise. Roddenberry, Rick Berman, and Michael Piller served as executive producers at different times throughout the production...
. Norton appeared in an edition of the highly acclaimed 1970's British television drama series Colditz
Colditz (TV series)
Colditz is a British television series co-produced by the BBC and Universal Studios and screened between 1972 and 1974.The series deals with Allied prisoners of war imprisoned at the supposedly escape-proof Colditz Castle when designated Oflag IV-C during World War II, and their many attempts to...
, as the librarian Lieutenant James Porteous.
He appeared in two episodes of Van der Valk. On Babylon 5
Babylon 5
Babylon 5 is an American science fiction television series created, produced and largely written by J. Michael Straczynski. The show centers on a space station named Babylon 5: a focal point for politics, diplomacy, and conflict during the years 2257–2262...
he appeared in a number of roles including "Ombuds Wellington
Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a person who acts as a trusted intermediary between an organization and some internal or external constituency while representing not only but mostly the broad scope of constituent interests...
" in 1994 episodes "Grail
Grail (Babylon 5)
"Grail" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:A traveler named Aldous Gajic comes to the station in search of the Holy Grail. Having sent information requests to the ambassadors prior to his arrival, he is greeted as a very important...
" and "The Quality of Mercy
The Quality of Mercy (Babylon 5)
"The Quality of Mercy" is an episode from the first season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5. The title is from a quote from the beginning of Portia's oration in Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice, Act IV, scene one.-Synopsis:...
"; a Narn
Narn
The Narn are a fictional alien race in the universe of the Babylon 5 television series. Their homeworld is also called Narn.-Homeworld:Narn is the homeworld of the Narn and the Narn Regime. Its day is 31 hours long. Prior to the Centauri's first invasion, Narn was a healthy green planet. Now it...
("Dust to Dust
Dust to Dust (Babylon 5)
"Dust to Dust" is an episode from the third season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:Bester returns to Babylon 5 to track down a dealer of Dust, an illegal psychotropic drug that can be used as a weapon.-Arc significance:...
", 1996); and Dr. Lazarenn, a Markab doctor in "Confessions and Lamentations
Confessions and Lamentations
"Confessions and Lamentations" is an episode from the second season of the science fiction television series Babylon 5.-Synopsis:A deadly plague strikes the Markab species. Dr...
" (1995). In Fall of Eagles
Fall of Eagles
Fall of Eagles is a 13-part British television drama aired by the BBC in 1974. The series was created by John Elliot and produced by Stuart Burge....
he played Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Kerensky
Alexander Fyodorovich Kerensky was a major political leader before and during the Russian Revolutions of 1917.Kerensky served as the second Prime Minister of the Russian Provisional Government until Vladimir Lenin was elected by the All-Russian Congress of Soviets following the October Revolution...
.
He appeared as O'Brady in National Pelmet, the Series 2 opener of critically acclaimed drama Minder
Minder (TV series)
Minder is a British comedy-drama about the London criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television and shown on ITV...
.
He has appeared in Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot
Agatha Christie's Poirot is a British television drama that has aired on ITV since 1989. It stars David Suchet as Agatha Christie's fictional detective Hercule Poirot. It was originally made by LWT and is now made by ITV Studios...
, Waking the Dead
Waking the Dead (TV series)
Waking the Dead is a British television police procedural crime drama series produced by the BBC featuring a fictional Cold Case Unit comprising CID police officers, a psychological profiler and a forensic scientist. A pilot episode aired in September 2000 and there have been a total of nine series...
, Cheers
Cheers
Cheers is an American situation comedy television series that ran for 11 seasons from 1982 to 1993. It was produced by Charles/Burrows/Charles Productions, in association with Paramount Network Television for NBC, and was created by the team of James Burrows, Glen Charles, and Les Charles...
, Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...
, Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders
Midsomer Murders is a British television detective drama that has aired on ITV since 1997. The show is based on the books by Caroline Graham, as originally adapted by Anthony Horowitz. The lead character is DCI Tom Barnaby who works for Causton CID. When Nettles left the show in 2011 he was...
, Maigret
Maigret
Jules Maigret, Maigret to most people, including his wife, is a fictional police detective, actually a commissaire or commissioner of the Paris "Brigade Criminelle" , created by writer Georges Simenon.Seventy-five novels and twenty-eight short stories about Maigret were published between 1931 and...
and Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey
Rumpole of the Bailey is a British television series created and written by the British writer and barrister John Mortimer which starred Leo McKern as Horace Rumpole, an ageing London barrister who defends any and all clients...
as "Fig Newton".
He also played the role of Stan Laurel
Stan Laurel
Arthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
in the BBC drama Stan.
Movies
Norton's most recent film is Water for ElephantsWater for Elephants
Water for Elephants is a historical novel by Sara Gruen. Gruen originally wrote the novel as part of National Novel Writing Month.- Plot :...
, in which he portrays a circus worker called "Camel" who befriends a character played by Robert Pattinson
Robert Pattinson
Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire...
.
He appeared in the 1969 epic film Alfred the Great
Alfred the Great (film)
Alfred the Great is a 1969 epic film which portrayed Alfred the Great's struggle to rid Wessex of the invading Danes, in the 870s AD. It starred David Hemmings in the title role.-Plot:...
as Thanet.
Norton played the part of "Pongo" in the screen version of Spike Milligan's war-time memoir 'Adolf Hitler. My Part in his Downfall.'
In 1971 he played "Chris Cawsey" (aka "The Rat Man"), one of several villains in the controversial Sam Peckinpah
Sam Peckinpah
David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah was an American filmmaker and screenwriter who achieved prominence following the release of the Western epic The Wild Bunch...
movie Straw Dogs starring Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
. His character had a deviously infectious, deliberately irritating laugh that helped build tension throughout the film.(see external links)
He starred in the movie Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
Memoirs of an Invisible Man is a 1992 film directed by John Carpenter and released by Warner Bros., with many scenes taking place in and around San Francisco. The film is loosely based on a 1987 novel of the same name by H.F. Saint...
alongside Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
in 1992.
He appeared in the comedy On the Nose
On the Nose (film)
On the Nose is an Irish / Canadian comedy, fantasy film released in 2001. It was written by Tony Philpott and stars Dan Aykroyd and Robbie Coltrane in a magical comedy where a long dead Australian aboriginal's head is used to predict winners in horse races...
as Patrick Cassidy, along with Dan Aykroyd and Robbie Coltrane, in 2001.
He appeared in a brief cameo in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (film)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a 2002 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. It is the second instalment in the Harry Potter film series, written by Steve Kloves and produced by David Heyman...
in 2002
2002 in film
The year 2002 in film involved some significant events. The first significant releases of sequels took place between The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, Men in Black II, Analyze That, Spy Kids 2: The Island of...
as Mr. Mason.
He can also be seen in the 2008
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (film)
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas is a 2008 historical-drama film based on the novel of the same name by Irish writer John Boyne. Directed by Mark Herman and produced by David Heyman, it stars Asa Butterfield, Jack Scanlon, David Thewlis, Vera Farmiga and Rupert Friend.A Holocaust drama, the film...
.
He played an Irish immigrant in the 2005 Australian/UK co-production, The Oyster Farmer.
He appeared in the Irish made film into the West.
Theatre
In 2004 he took part in the touring production of Martin McDonaghMartin McDonagh
Martin McDonagh is an Irish-British playwright, filmmaker, and screenwriter. Although he has lived in London his entire life, he is considered one of the most important living Irish playwrights.-Life:...
's The Pillowman
The Pillowman
The Pillowman is a 2003 play by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh. It received its first public reading in an early version at the Finborough Theatre, London, in 1995...
.
In 2006/7 he appeared in Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson is an Irish playwright and director.-Life and career:McPherson was born in Dublin, . He was educated at University College Dublin, McPherson began writing his first plays there as a member of UCD Dramsoc, the college's dramatic society, and went on to found Fly By Night Theatre...
's The Seafarer
The Seafarer (play)
The Seafarer is a 2006 play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. It is set on Christmas Eve in Baldoyle, a coastal suburb north of Dublin city. The play centers on James "Sharkey" Harkin, an alcoholic who has recently returned to live with his blind, aging brother, Richard Harkin...
at The National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, and reprised the same role in the 2008 Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of the play.
Audio work
Norton provided the voice for Major Kennet for the 2003 Doctor WhoDoctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
animated serial, Scream of the Shalka
Scream of the Shalka
Scream of the Shalka is a flash-animated series based on the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was produced to coincide with the 40th Anniversary of the series and was originally posted in six weekly parts from 13 November to 18 December 2003 on bbc.co.uk's Doctor Who...
.
He has recorded the whole of James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
's Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
(with Marcella Riordan), Dubliners
Dubliners
Dubliners is a collection of 15 short stories by James Joyce, first published in 1914. They were meant to be a naturalistic depiction of Irish middle class life in and around Dublin in the early years of the 20th century....
, Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
(abridged with Marcella Riordan) and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a semi-autobiographical novel by James Joyce, first serialised in the magazine The Egoist from 1914 to 1915, and published first in book format in 1916 by B. W. Huebsch, New York. The first English edition was published by the Egoist Press in February 1917...
for Naxos Records
Naxos Records
Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...
.
Thorndyke: Forensic Investigator: for BBC 4 Extra 2011
Awards
- Jacob's AwardsJacob's AwardsThe Jacob's Awards were instituted in December 1962 as the first Irish television awards. Later, they were expanded to include radio. The awards were named after their sponsor, W. & R. Jacob & Co. Ltd., a biscuit manufacturer, and recipients were selected by Ireland's national newspaper television...
- Solo, for Telefís ÉireannRTÉ OneRTÉ One is the flagship television channel of Raidió Teilifís Éireann , and it is the most popular and most watched television channel in Ireland. It was launched as Telefís Éireann on 31 December 1961, it was renamed RTÉ Television in 1966, and it was renamed as RTÉ One upon the launch of RTÉ...
in 1964 in which he played a gay man.
- Legend Award - as the older Stan LaurelStan LaurelArthur Stanley "Stan" Jefferson , better known as Stan Laurel, was an English comic actor, writer and film director, famous as the first half of the comedy team Laurel and Hardy. His film acting career stretched between 1917 and 1951 and included a starring role in the Academy Award winning film...
in a television docu-drama about Laurel and HardyLaurel and HardyLaurel and Hardy were one of the most popular and critically acclaimed comedy double acts of the early Classical Hollywood era of American cinema...
. (Elk Acting Festival, Dundonald, Belfast). Norton did not appear as he did not expect to win the award.
- Olivier Award - Best Actor in a Supporting Role for The SeafarerThe Seafarer (play)The Seafarer is a 2006 play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. It is set on Christmas Eve in Baldoyle, a coastal suburb north of Dublin city. The play centers on James "Sharkey" Harkin, an alcoholic who has recently returned to live with his blind, aging brother, Richard Harkin...
- Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
- Best Featured Actor in a Play for The SeafarerThe Seafarer (play)The Seafarer is a 2006 play by Irish playwright Conor McPherson. It is set on Christmas Eve in Baldoyle, a coastal suburb north of Dublin city. The play centers on James "Sharkey" Harkin, an alcoholic who has recently returned to live with his blind, aging brother, Richard Harkin...