James Norton Shares Why Making ‘King & Conqueror’ Is So Important

James Norton, who you’ve probably seen bringing his A-game to dramas like Happy Valley and Grantchester, recently caught up with Collider’s Maggie Lovitt to chat about his emotionally devastating new film, Nowhere Special. During the conversation, he couldn’t help but spill some details about his other passion project that’s right up the alley for history buffs — the upcoming TV series King and Conqueror, which is being produced by BBC and CBS Studios. First off, let’s set the stage for this new series. The Battle of Hastings, that legendary showdown in 1066, wasn’t just a scrap over a piece of land; it was the event that reshaped England’s future. It saw William the Conqueror, a duke from Normandy, duke it out with Harold Godwinson, the King of England at the time. The clash ended with William taking the crown and starting a new chapter in English history. In the series, Norton takes on the role of Harold Godwinson, with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau playing William the Conqueror. Norton shared some insights from the set, and heavily praised the cast and crew involved in the shoot:

“I’m currently in the middle of the shoot. My blonde hair, it looks a little anachronistic, but when I’m in my full medieval garbs, it makes more sense. My family are all light haired, so it’s been a real experience. As I say, we’re probably nearing halfway now. We shot in Iceland. It’s a wonderful cast —
Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan, Emily Beecham, Clémence Poésy
. A beautiful group of actors, a really lovely ensemble.
Bálint Szentgyörgyi
is at the helm, and it’s a deep dive into the history. An incredible amount of it is true, so we haven’t had to veer really far off the actual truth and the drama and the sort of soap opera aspect to it. It is just incredible.”

Norton isn’t just starring in the series; he’s also producing it through his own company. He explained his dual role with excitement: “For me, it’s been a real big one, because I’m producing it as well. So, it’s my production company which is making it. I’ve been developing it for about five years, and we’re deep into it. My business partner, Kitty Kaletsky, who runs the company with me, is a brilliant, wonderful, wonderful force of nature. We do spend quite a lot of times in the studio with this huge build, like, ‘How the fuck did we end up here?’ So, it’s a very exciting project. There’s a lot of spinning plates. It’s a lot of responsibility, but so far so good. It’s going well.”

James Norton is Keen to Share English History with the World

When asked why he chose to produce this particular project, Norton was keen to emphasize its historical and personal significance, particularly as it’s something children learn about early on in English schools, so bringing that history to the world was an important subject for him.

“So it’s the third project we’ve actually produced. We’ve made a movie called Rogue Agent, and we’ve had a TV show which we shot before Christmas called Playing Nice, which is also coming out later this year, or the next year. We don’t exactly know when — probably this year. So, it’s one of the many projects which we have on our slate. In terms of the reason why it’s kind of come to fruition quickly is partly because I find it fascinating, and it’s such an integral part of English history. In England, it’s the first date we learn — 1066, Battle of Hastings. No one really knows much more about it than that, but it’s one of the first things we learned so everyone has a relationship with it, including me. What’s continued to propel us forward is the characters. It’s this incredible gallery of really interesting characters, all real people from history. So, I’m not a history nut, but I’ve become more and more engaged with it.”

Stay tuned to Collider for more information on King & Conqueror. Nowhere Special is in theaters now.

Nowhere Special

When John, a thirty-five-year-old window cleaner, is given only a few months to live, he attempts to find a new, perfect family for his three-year-old son, determined to shield him from the terrible reality of the situation.

Release Date

July 26, 2024

Director

Uberto Pasolini

Cast

James Norton , Daniel Lamont , Carol Moore , Valene Kane , Keith McErlean , Eileen O’Higgins , Laura Hughes , Éva Morris

Runtime

96 Minutes

Main Genre

Drama

Writers

Uberto Pasolini

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