Alex Norton is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in the STV detective drama series ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

'', Eric Baird in

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air Public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matte ...

sitcom '' Two Doors Down'', DCS Wallace in '' Extremely Dangerous'', Gerard Findlay in '' Waterloo Road'' and Eddie in the '' Renford Rejects''. He has also had roles in internationally successful films including ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American epic film, epic historical drama, historical war drama film directed and produced by Mel Gibson, who portrays Scottish warrior William Wallace in the First War of Scottish Independence against Edward I of Engl ...

'', '' Local Hero'' and ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

''.

Early life

Norton spent part of his childhood in Moffat Street in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, and former burgh, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and e ...

before moving to

Pollokshaws Pollokshaws () is an area on the South side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the residential neighbourhoods of Auldhouse, Glasgow, Auldhouse to the east, Eastwood, Glasgow, Eastwood and Hillpark, Glasgow, Hillpark to the south ...

. He was educated at

Shawlands Academy Shawlands Academy is a state secondary school in the Shawlands area of Glasgow, Scotland. Admissions Shawlands Academy was Glasgow's designated International School and one of Scotland's most multicultural schools. It was situated in Shawland ...

, Glasgow. Norton's very first TV appearance was in the early 1960s on STV's live lunchtime show ''The One O' Clock Gang'', He discovered acting at the age of fourteen via an out-of-school drama group. This led to his part in the TV series ''

Dr. Finlay's Casebook ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook'' is a television drama series that was produced and broadcast by the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novella ''Country Doctor'', the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fiction ...

'' and with it the decision that acting was the career for him. Because of his background and his father's lack of approval of his chosen career, Norton decided to avoid the traditional route into acting and instead worked from part-to-part.

Career

In 1973, he became one of the founder members of the 7:84 company, touring Scotland with '' The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil''. He has appeared in numerous films including

Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946) is a Scottish film director and writer known for his films '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) as well as his adaptation of the Marilynne Robinson novel ...

's '' Gregory's Girl'' (1981), '' Local Hero'' (1983) and '' Comfort and Joy'' (1984), ''

A Sense of Freedom ''A Sense of Freedom'' is a 1981 Scottish crime film directed by John Mackenzie for Scottish Television. The film stars David Hayman and featured Jake D'Arcy, Sean Scanlan, Hector Nicol, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay. It is based on the au ...

'' (1981), ''

Comrades In political contexts, comrade means a fellow party member. The political use was inspired by the French Revolution, after which it grew into a form of address between socialists and workers. Since the Russian Revolution, popular culture in the ...

'' (1986), '' Hidden City'' (1987), ''

Scandal A scandal can be broadly defined as the strong social reactions of outrage, anger, or surprise, when accusations or rumours circulate or appear for some reason, regarding a person or persons who are perceived to have transgressed in some way a ...

'' (1989), '' Countdown to War'' (1989), ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary noble outlaw, heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature, theatre, and cinema. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions o ...

'' (1991), '' Chernobyl: The Final Warning'' (1991), '' Blame It on the Bellboy'' (1992), '' Squanto: A Warrior's Tale'' (1994), '' Little Voice'' (1998), ''

Orphans An orphan is a child whose parents have died, are unknown, or have permanently abandoned them. It can also refer to a child who has lost only one parent, as the Hebrew translation, for example, is "fatherless". In some languages, such as Swedis ...

'' (1998) and '' Beautiful Creatures'' (2000), as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as '' White Hunter, Black Heart'' (1990) with

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

, ''

Patriot Games ''Patriot Games'' is a thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published in July 1987. '' Without Remorse'', released six years later, is an indirect prequel, and it is chronologically the first book featuring Jack Ryan, the main character ...

'' (1992) with

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. Regarded as a cinematic cultural icon, he has starred in Harrison Ford filmography, many notable films over seven decades, and is one of List of highest-grossing actors, the highest-gr ...

, ''

'' (1995) starring

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Mel Gibson, multiple accolades, he is known for directing historical films as well for his act ...

and '' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (2006) with

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...

. Norton also voiced Thurston McCondry in the animated shorts '' Haunted Hogmanay'' and '' Glendogie Bogey''. In addition to his role as DCI Matt Burke in ''Taggart'', he had previously appeared in the same series as murder suspect George Bryce in the episode "Knife Edge" in 1986. Norton also provided the voice-overs for the ill-fated channel Sky Scottish that only ran for 18 months from November 1996 before closing down in May 1998 He was the subject of '' This Is Your Life'' in 2003 when he was surprised by

Michael Aspel Michael Terence Aspel (born 12 January 1933) is an English retired television presenter and newsreader. He hosted programmes such as '' Crackerjack!'', '' Ask Aspel'', ''Aspel & Company'', '' Give Us a Clue'', '' This Is Your Life'', '' Strange ...

. In 2005, Norton was presented with the opportunity to play a part in

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

's ''

King Kong King Kong, also referred to simply as Kong, is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. The character has since become an international pop culture icon,Erb, Cynthia, 1998, ''Tracking Kin ...

''; however, he could not accept the offer because it happened to interfere with the TV project he was working on at the time. From August to September 2012, he played the role of Gerard Findlay in '' Waterloo Road'', a hot-headed, villainous headteacher from rival school Havelock High School. In March 2014, he played Cameron Watts in the "Dead Water" episodes of the

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's oldest and flagship channel, and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television b ...

crime drama series ''

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

''. In 2014, Norton appeared in the documentary ''I Belong To Glasgow'', a

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. Its headquarters are in Glasgow, employing approximately 1,250 staff as of 2017, to produce 15,000 hours of television and radio programming per year. BBC Scotla ...

production in which he guest starred alongside Karen Dunbar. Since 2013, Norton has played Eric in the sitcom ''Two Doors Down''.

Personal life

In the 1970s he met his wife, Sally Kinghorn. They met on the set of a BBC Schools series. The couple have three sons, Jamie, Rory and Jock. In 2014, at the time of the Scottish independence referendum, Norton endorsed a "No" vote in opposition to independence. He has, however, confirmed his support for Scottish independence since the referendum.

Awards and other work

Norton has also won two awards for writing. "Extras", an episode of ''First Sight'' for

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

and ''Waiting for Elvis'' for STV. He also has an interest in directing. He directed the first production of Tony Roper's '' The Steamie'', as well as directing Glasgow's King's Theatre's pantomimes for a five-year period. He appeared in ''

The Black Adder ''The Black Adder'' is the first series of the BBC sitcom ''Blackadder'', written by Richard Curtis and Rowan Atkinson, directed by Martin Shardlow and produced by John Lloyd. The series was originally aired on BBC1 from 15 June 1983 to 20 Ju ...

'' in the episode "Born to be King" as Dougal McAngus, 4th Duke of Argyll. He has also done voice over work on '' Medieval Total War II'' as the voice of some of the Scottish characters in the game, along with voicing in ''Hearts of Stone'', an expansion pack for the video game '' The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt'' and Lord Robert in ''

Dragon Quest XI ''Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age'' is a 2017 role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix. The eleventh entry in the ''Dragon Quest'' series, it was released in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS and PlayStation 4 in July 2 ...

'' . He provided additional vocals on "The Song of Mor'du" in '' Brave'', which also featured his wife

Sally Kinghorn Sally or Sallie may refer to: People and characters Persons * Sally (name), a female given name, and list of notable people with the name; a diminutive of Sarah. * , French influencer and activist * Axis Sally, the name given to female radio pr ...

. He also appeared on ''

The Weakest Link ''Weakest Link'' (also known as ''The Weakest Link'') is a television game show which The Weakest Link (British game show), first appeared in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 14 August 2000 and originally ended on 31 March 2012 when its host ...

'' TV Drama Characters Edition. He was the first one voted off. Norton also fronts the STV crime show '' Unsolved''. Norton also plays Grandad in the CBeebies programme '' Woolly and Tig''.

Filmography

*''The Hunch'' (1967) .... Ian *''

'' (1979) .... Malkie *'' Gregory's Girl'' (1981) .... Alec *''Scotch Myths'' (1982) ....

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of the English writer Samuel Johnson, '' Life of Samuel ...

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 1759 – 21 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the List of national poets, national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the be ...

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

Felix Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositions inc ...

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

*'' Local Hero'' (1983) .... Watt *''

'' (1983) .... McAngus, Duke of Argyll *''Every Picture Tells a Story'' (1983) .... William Scott Sr. *'' Comfort and Joy'' (1984) .... Trevor *''

'' (1986) .... Diorama Showman / Lanternist / Laughing Cavalier / Sgt. Bell / Mr Wetham (scene cut) / Usher / Wollaston / Ranger / Tramp / Captain / McCallum / Silhouettist / Mad Photographer / Witch *'' Hidden City'' (1987) .... Hillcombe *''

Rab C Nesbitt ''Rab C. Nesbitt'' is a Scottish television comedy, comedy television series that originally aired between 1988 and 1999. The show returned for a one–off special in 2008, before being re-commissioned in 2010. Its second run was broadcast from ...

'' (1988) Seasonal Greet .... Dodie *''

'' (1989) .... Detective Inspector *''Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale'' (1989) .... Harold *'' Countdown to War'' (1989, TV Movie) .... Stalin *'' White Hunter Black Heart'' (1990) .... Zibelinsky *'' Chernobyl: The Final Warning'' (1991, TV Movie) .... Dr. Andreyev *''

'' (1991) .... Harry *'' Under Suspicion'' (1991) .... Prosecuting Lawyer *'' Blame It on the Bellboy'' (1992) .... Alfio *''

'' (1992) .... Dennis Cooley *'' Squanto: A Warrior's Tale'' (1994) .... Harding *''

'' (1995) .... Bride's Father *''

'' (1998) .... General *''

'' (1998) .... Hanson *'' Little Voice'' (1998) .... Bunnie Morris *'' Complicity'' (2000) .... Kenny Garnet *'' Beautiful Creatures'' (2000) .... Det Insp Hepburn *''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

'' (2002) .... Napoleon *'' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (2006) .... Captain Bellamy (Edinburgh) *'' Sir Billi'' (2012) .... Butler / Baron McToff (voice) *''

Underdogs An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

'' (2013) .... Gregor (English version, voice)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Norton, Alex Living people 20th-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male actors Male actors from Glasgow People from Gorbals Scottish male television actors Scottish male film actors People educated at Shawlands Academy Year of birth missing (living people)