It’s hard to look at James Norton and not see Happy Valley’s Tommy Lee Royce at this point, and for good reason: he is positively terrifying as the murderous abuser.

“I was at a gig and some people turned round, saw me and screamed,” the actor told Radio Times. “Another time, a woman came up to me on the street, grabbed my neck and shouted, ‘You’re a monster!’ She then caught herself and said, ‘I’m so sorry, that was really inappropriate.’

“It was quite funny.”

Of course, it would be downright rude to suggest that Tommy Lee Royce is the only iconic character that Norton has brought to our screens.

With that in mind, then, let’s take a look back at his greatest film and TV performances to date.

Little Women

You’d be forgiven for forgetting that Norton played a part in Greta Gerwig’s reimagining of Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming-of-age tale. After all, the film boasts the unique talents of Laura Dern, Meryl Streep, Florence Pugh, Timothée Chalamet, Emma Watson and Saoirse Ronan, to name just a few!

Norton, of course, stars as John Brooke, the kindly soldier turned weary tutor turned impoverished husband of Watson’s Meg March. And, once you know that, it’s impossible not to pay attention to his quietly emotional interpretation of the character.

Little Women is streaming on Netflix.

Grantchester

Who doesn’t love Grantchester? Really? As empathetic and tortured vicar Sidney Chambers, Norton joins forces with Inspector Geordie Keating (Robson Green) and helps him investigate and solve crimes in the village of Grantchester. And, boy, are there a lot of crimes to solve…

Grantchester is streaming on Prime Video.

The Nevers

The Nevers “is an epic science fiction drama about a gang of Victorian women who find themselves with unusual abilities, relentless enemies and a mission that might change the world”.

Basically, it’s The X-Men (or The X-Women, to be more exact), but set in 19th century England. And, while the women are very much the stars of the show, Norton portrays Lord Hugo Swan throughout the series – which means, yeah, he’s a flamboyant ‘posh boy’ and the show’s irresistible ‘bad boy’. Standard.

The Nevers is streaming on NOW.

Things Heard And Seen

This adaptation of Elizabeth Brundage’s 2016 novel, All Things Cease To Appear, follows the story of art history professor, George (Norton) and his artist wife, Catherine (Amanda Seyfried), when they move to the middle of nowhere after George gets a teaching gig at a small private college. 

As soon as she steps inside their new home (a suitably creaky and creepy old house), Catherine senses that something is amiss. It’s not long, though, before she realises that the property’s ghosts are the least of her worries…

Things Heard And Seen is streaming on Netflix.

Nowhere Special

In this heartfelt and deeply emotional story, Norton takes on the role of John, a window cleaner who wholly devotes his life to raising his four-year-old son. When he discovers he only has a few months left to live, though, John is forced to spend his final days looking for a new and perfect someone to adopt his boy. Sob.

Nowhere Special is streaming on Prime Video.

The Trial Of Christine Keeler

This dramatised retelling of the iconic 1960s ‘Profumo Affair’ explores the cover-up of an affair between the then-secretary of state for war John Profumo (Ben Miles) and model Christine Keeler (Sophie Cookson) – as in, yes, the one which threatened to bring down the government.

Norton stars as Stephen Ward, the osteopath and artist who introduced Keeler to Profumo in the first place. It’s his friendship with the Soviet military attaché Yevgeny Ivanov (Visar Vishka), however, that really lights the spark on this drama-fuelled powderkeg…

The Trial Of Christine Keeler is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

Rogue Agent

Another day, another villain is terrifyingly brought to life by Norton. This time, he stars in fact-based thriller Rogue Agent as conman Robert Freegard, who poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amid a high-stakes manhunt. Until, that is, the woman who fell for him brings him to justice…

Rogue Agent is streaming on Netflix.

Happy Valley

Happy Valley is the show that needs no introduction, quite frankly. Starring Sarah Lancashire as Catherine Cawood, the Yorkshire-based crime drama sees her lead a team of strong-willed police officers to solve cases in the local area.

Norton, of course, stars as Tommy Lee Royce – the man who raped and abused Catherine’s daughter, who doused his son with petrol and threatened to set him on fire, who was sent to prison for murder, and who has (spoilers) recently escaped incarceration, hellbent on revenge.

How will their feud end? And do we really want it to, quite frankly? Only time will tell.

Happy Valley is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

Not enough James Norton for you? You can also find him starring in…

• Mr Jones
• Hero
• McMafia
• Flatliners
• Hampstead
• Walk Invisible: The Brontë Sisters
• Black Mirror
• War & Peace
• Lady Chatterley’s Lover (2015)
• Angelica
• Northmen: A Viking Saga
• The Great War: The People’s Story
• Death Comes To Pemberley
• By Any Means
• Belle
• Rush
• Doctor Who
• Blandings
• Restless
• Inspector George Gently

Images: Getty; BBC; Netflix