James Norton dishes on difficult decision to step down from major role

James Norton opened up about turning down a major role because he did not want to be typecast.

The 39-year-old actor, who was speculated for being casted as the James Bond role, shared how he decided not to take on a villain role in his new thriller, Playing Nice.

Norton played the role of father Pete in his upcoming show which will be out in January and follows the story of two families whose babies get switched at birth.

The Happy Valley actor revealed that he was considering the role of villain Miles in the show but he gradually realized that he actually wanted to play the good guy.

This comes after the actor has played many villainous roles over the years, one of which is in the show Happy Valley.

Discussing his fear of being typecast, Norton said, “You do a Second World War drama, and you get to go and be a historian in the British Library for however long and have an emotional connection with that particular piece of history,” in interview with The Mirror magazine.

“If you do it really well, then you're going to get a few more offers for Second World War dramas coming your way.”

The Little Women actor continued, “And the brave thing is to say no to those and think, 'Okay, right, we're going to go a different route and try and keep learning, keep expanding.’”

Discussing his plans for future roles, he said, “Well, now I've done the nice guy, maybe I'll go back. I don't know, we'll see. The next thing is always a surprise.”