Happy Valley's James Norton turned down new villain role over typecasting fears

Speaking with The Mirror, Norton revealed it was his Happy Valley past which led Delaney to think of him for the role - but is also exactly what stopped him from taking it.

"In the very early conversations with the author JP Delaney, I was going to play the villain, Miles," Norton revealed.

"JP had seen me play a villain in Happy Valley, and he thought, 'He's going to be a great villain for this.' So at the start of the development process, that was the idea."

Norton continued: "But then at a certain point, I thought, for that reason, maybe I should move into the other role - that felt more of a challenge.

"I hadn't played that kind of everyman, that young modern man who thinks he's doing everything right, who realises the world isn’t as benign as he thinks it is.

"I got more and more excited to play Pete, and now I wouldn’t want to touch Miles as James McArdle has done such a good job. Step forward, the new villain."

When asked whether he was done with playing villains for a while, Norton 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."

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Earlier this year, as his film Joy was releasing on Netflix, Norton looked back on his time playing the villainous Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, when speaking with RadioTimes.com.

"It's funny now, having a bit of distance," he explained. "Because it was 10 years of my life, you know, the first two series, and then there was a seven-year gap, and then we did the third series, and then there was, like, this amazing response.

"And, I mean, it makes feel old when I realised that was a moment in my life, that was a decade, a chapter. I mean, it was everything – I owe so much to that job.

"I've said it many times, but... not only was it just an incredible, enjoyable experience for an actor to play a great role, beautifully written, so, so nuanced and rich, but more pragmatically, it did so much for my career."

Norton continued: "It was the first time I played a big role in a series which got a lot of attention and set me off, allowed producers and directors to sort of trust me with other roles where I was able to go on that transformative journey.

"I don't think I would have maybe had the same opportunities without Tommy and Sally [Wainwright]'s trust, so I owe it loads. I always feel a deep affection towards that experience."

Along with Norton and McArdle, Playing Nice also stars Niamh Algar and Jessica Brown Findlay, and has been adapted by Malpractice writer Grace Ofori-Attah.

Playing Nice is coming to ITV1 and ITVX soon.

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