Alexander Hugh Norton (born 27 January 1950) is a Scottish

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. 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 September 19 ...

'', Eric Baird in

BBC Two BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...

sitcom '' Two Doors Down'', DCS Wallace in ''

Extremely Dangerous ''Extremely Dangerous'' is a 1999 four-part drama serial for ITV (TV network), ITV starring Sean Bean. Synopsis Neil Byrne, an ex-National Criminal Intelligence Service undercover spy, agent convicted of the brutal murder of his wife and child ...

'', Gerard Findlay in '' Waterloo Road'' and Eddie in the ''

Renford Rejects ''Renford Rejects'' is a teen sitcom produced and broadcast by Nickelodeon UK between 1998 and 2001. The show briefly aired in the United States on Nickelodeon Games and Sports for Kids, Nick GaS. Reruns used to be broadcast on Nickelodeon UK at ...

''. He has also had roles in internationally successful films including ''

Braveheart ''Braveheart'' is a 1995 American historical drama film directed and produced by, and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays Sir William Wallace, a late-13th century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First War of Scottish Independence ag ...

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

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...

''.

Early life

Norton was born in

Househillwood Househillwood is a residential neighbourhood of Glasgow, Scotland, situated in the south-west of the city. Location and history Househillwood is close to the centre of the Pollok district and is often considered to be part of ' Greater Pollo ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and spent part of his childhood in Moffat Street in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, 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 employment opportun ...

before moving to

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

. 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. 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 fictiona ...

'' 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 ''The Cheviot, the Stag and the Black, Black Oil'' is a play written in the 1970s by Merseyside-born playwright John McGrath. From April 1973, beginning at a venue in Aberdeen (Aberdeen Arts Centre),

''. He has appeared in numerous films including

Bill Forsyth William David Forsyth (born 29 July 1946). known as Bill Forsyth, 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 Ma ...

's ''

Gregory's Girl ''Gregory's Girl'' is a 1980 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth and starring John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn and Clare Grogan. The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhil ...

'' (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 auto ...

'' (1981), ''

Comrades The term ''comrade'' (russian: товарищ, tovarisch) generally means 'mate', 'colleague', or 'ally', and derives from the Spanish and Portuguese, term , literally meaning 'chamber mate', from Latin , meaning 'chamber' or 'room'. It may also ...

'' (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. Th ...

'' (1989), ''

Countdown to War ''Countdown to War'' is a television film made in 1989 as a co-production by Granada Television and PBS. It recounts the events that occurred between 15 March 1939, when the German army commanded by Adolf Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia and created ...

'' (1989), ''

Robin Hood Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is depic ...

'' (1991), '' Chernobyl: The Final Warning'' (1991), ''

Blame It on the Bellboy ''Blame It on the Bellboy'' is a 1992 comedy film written and directed by Mark Herman and starring Dudley Moore, Bryan Brown, Patsy Kensit, Richard Griffiths, Andreas Katsulas, and Bronson Pinchot. The plot is about a case of mistaken identit ...

'' (1992), '' Squanto: A Warrior's Tale'' (1994), '' Little Voice'' (1998), ''

Orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

'' (1998) and '' Beautiful Creatures'' (2000), as well as Hollywood blockbusters such as ''

White Hunter, Black Heart ''White Hunter Black Heart'' is a 1990 American adventure drama film produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood and based on the 1953 book of the same name by Peter Viertel. Viertel also co-wrote the script with James Bridges and Burt Ken ...

'' (1990) with

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western TV series '' Rawhide'', he rose to international fame with his role as the "Man with No Name" in Sergio Leone's "''Doll ...

, ''

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 i ...

'' (1992) with

Harrison Ford Harrison Ford (born July 13, 1942) is an American actor. His films have grossed more than $5.4billion in North America and more than $9.3billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing actor in North America. He is the recipient o ...

, ''

'' (1995) starring

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

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 multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

. 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. 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 newsreader and host of programmes such as '' Crackerjack'', ''Aspel & Company'', ''Give Us a Clue'', '' This is Your Life'', '' Strange but True?'' and ''Antiques Ro ...

. 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 film director, screenwriter and producer. He is best known as the director, writer and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy ( ...

's ''

King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...

''; 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 network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...

crime drama series ''

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

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

BBC Scotland BBC Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: ''BBC Alba'') is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcaster in Scotland. It is one of the four BBC national regions, together with the BBC English Regions, BBC Cymru Wales and BBC Northern Ireland. I ...

production in which he guest starred alongside

Karen Dunbar Karen Dunbar (born 1 April 1971) is a Scottish comedian, actress and writer. She first appeared on television on the BBC Scotland sketch comedy series ''Chewin' the Fat'' (1999–2002), and was subsequently given her own show by the channel ti ...

. 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 A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side wo ...

, 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 network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

and ''Waiting for Elvis'' for STV. He also has an interest in directing. He directed the first production of Tony Roper's ''

The Steamie ''The Steamie'' is a comedy-drama stage play, written by Tony Roper. It is set on Hogmanay 1950 and provides a window on the lives and aspirations of a group of Glasgow women washing their clothes in a public washhouse (steamie). It was commis ...

'', 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 BBC 1 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 King Rab in ''

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

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

'' (1981) .... Alec *'' 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 comedy series which began in 1988. Produced by BBC Scotland, it stars Gregor Fisher as an alcoholic Glaswegian who seeks unemployment as a lifestyle choice. Rab C. Nesbitt was originally a recurring character i ...

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

'' (1989) .... Detective Inspector *''Bearskin: An Urban Fairytale'' (1989) .... Harold *''

'' (1989, TV Movie) .... Stalin *''

White Hunter Black Heart ''White Hunter Black Heart'' is a 1990 American adventure drama film produced, directed by, and starring Clint Eastwood and based on the 1953 book of the same name by Peter Viertel. Viertel also co-wrote the script with James Bridges and Burt Kenn ...

'' (1990) .... Zibelinsky *'' Chernobyl: The Final Warning'' (1991, TV Movie) .... Dr. Andreyev *''

'' (1991) .... Harry *'' Under Suspicion'' (1991) .... Prosecuting Lawyer *''

'' (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 Complicity is the participation in a completed criminal act of an accomplice, a partner in the crime who aids or encourages ( abets) other perpetrators of that crime, and who shared with them an intent to act to complete the crime.''Criminal Law ...

'' (2000) .... Kenny Garnet *'' Beautiful Creatures'' (2000) .... Det Insp Hepburn *''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' (french: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel written by French author Alexandre Dumas (''père'') completed in 1844. It is one of the author's more popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers''. Li ...

'' (2002) .... Napoleon *'' Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest'' (2006) .... Captain Bellamy (Edinburgh) *''

Sir Billi ''Sir Billi'' (also known as ''Guardian of the Highlands'') is a 2012 British computer-animated adventure comedy film directed by Sascha Hartmann and written by his wife Tessa Hartmann, based on an original story they developed together. Produ ...

'' (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 1950 births 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