James Norton has a solo trip to Japan booked for mid-January, but the actor cant seem to get the time away from work.

I keep having to delay the flights, the British star confesses to The Hollywood Reporter. At the time of writing, he is shooting House of Guinness, a new Netflix series fromPeaky Blinders creator Steven Knight detailing the birth of the Irish stout empire. Its Steven firing on all cylinders, Norton teases about the tightly-under-wraps show. Hes having the time of his life. You can tell hes loved writing it because its just so fun and powerful. Its sexy and smoky. Even in the [script], you can taste the soot and the beer and the sweat. Norton plays Guinness factory foreman Sean Rafferty, who splits his time between the depths of the brewery and high-society Dublin (I beat up all the men and have sex with all the women, basically.) But, he adds, it was only when the rhythmic music of a hip-hop artist was put to the shows gritty teaser trailer did the cast come to understand what shape the program was taking: It was like, Oh, thats the show were making! Okay!' the star says. Its fucking fun.

Most audiences in the U.K. will know Norton as the perpetually terrifying Tommy Lee Royce opposite Sarah Lancashire in Sally Wainwrights BAFTA-winning hit Happy Valley. Before that, he was the dashing and devoted clergyman Sidney Chambers in ITVs detective drama Grantchester. Thats right he can do both: Sidney was the most lovely, adorable, sweet man, and then seeing Tommy Lee Royce, I was like, Oh my God, this is so jarring,' he says, not a shred of Royces unnerving personality discernible.

James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley season three. BBC U.S. audiences, however, might recognize the 39-year-old as Andrei Nikolayevich Bolkonsky in 2016s War Peace, as single parent John in father-son drama Nowhere Special (2020) or as John Brooke in Greta Gerwigs critically acclaimed Little Women (2019). I guess the big, shiny role I remember landing was Little Women, Norton recalls. That cast was just insane. Timothee [Chalamet] and Emma [Watson], Florence [Pugh] Meryl fucking Streep! So I remember thinking, How the hell have I ended up here?'

But the big punctuation marks are often the ones which creep up on you, he continues. Happy Valley, Grantchester taking the lead in a procedural drama and then this big, pulpy show which grabbed attention and [was] one of those water cooler shows having them juxtaposed definitely helped me identify myself as an actor who wanted to go on those risky journeys. Its often in hindsight that you realize how important a job was.

Now, Norton is a seasoned star of both screen and stage. He and Kitty Kaletsky co-founded London-based production company Rabbit Track Pictures (well get onto that) and last year, he took on the lead role in the West End adaptation of Hanya YanagiharasA Little Life, which he describes as the hardest thing hes ever done: It took me into insanity. I had to give everything over to it in order to do it justice. And during it, everyone was like, Take a break, you need to go and look after yourself And then Joy came along in the last month of my run.

Joy, which was released in U.K. theaters on Nov. 15 and is now airing on Netflix, follows the scientists who worked tirelessly and against those who deemed their aim unnatural to make the worlds first-ever IVF baby. A script by Jack Thorne, direction by Ben Taylor and performances from Norton, Thomasin McKenzie and Bill Nighy create a kind of magic that cant often be captured in historical dramas.

I love that you say [magic], Norton begins. Because often, you do a movie and you go, I really hope that you are able to experience the sort of harmony which we felt on set. And sometimes you use it as a line and there was no harmony on set. [Laughs.] Youre like, [widens eyes] It was such a good time No, Im lucky. Ive never been on any horrific, disastrous jobs. But theres some times where you really form meaningful relationships, and other times its more of a job. Joy, I can say, hand on heart, was one of those [meaningful] jobs. Particularly the three of us, Bill and Thomasin, we got on so well.

He adds: I loved making it. I was wondering, am I allowed to cry at my own movies? Quietly, I had a little cry.

Bill Nighy, Thomasin McKenzie and Norton in Netflixs Joy. Netflix/Kerry Brown Norton portrays Robert Edwards in the film, a trailblazing scientist who was, in the 1960s and 70s, controversially attempting to make babies outside of the womb. Its a rare treat to play someone whos just defined by their goodness and their selflessness, he says of the late physiologist. It was a very special film and the whole set was imbued with that energy. But also because I think Jack and Ben both have IVF kids, [so] there was this very profound poignancy and gratitude around the science. Theyd go home to their little babies, and they would be like, Thank God for IVF.'

The actor has no children of his own yet but is, as THR likes to point out, portraying many a fatherly figure onscreen recently: Its probably my age. My business partner [Kaletsky] has coined my new casting bracket as Sad Dad, which I thought was quite apt.

On Sunday, Jan. 5, Nortons next Sad Dad era premiered in the form of four-part ITV drama Playing Nice, produced by Rabbit Track, in which his character Pete and wife Maddie (Niamh Algar) discover their child was swapped with another couples at birth. Based on the book by J.P. Delaney, Norton says it happens more often than youd think.

Your child is my child, my child is yours, he says. How do you navigate that dilemma, especially when the guidelines are very, very vague? Younger than two, [experts] suggest that they switch the kids back, because this does weirdly happen more than you think across the world.

He continues: Older than three, they suggest that you leave them where they are, because its too dangerous and [they could be] potentially psychologically damaged if switched back. So its just like, What the fuck do we do? Whats your relationship with that other couple? It just immediately sparked my curiosity around the human struggle.

Norton as Pete in ITVs Playing Nice. ITV Has it been odd transitioning from actor to producer, especially in projects he also stars in? Kitty and I have been led by our tastes, he says of the direction for Rabbit Track (fondly named after the place of adventure burrowed at the bottom of Nortons childhood garden.) At the beginning, everyone kept asking us, like, Whats your creative mandate? When youre just starting out, its really hard to find a pithy one liner.

But Norton gets totally honest about Rabbit Tracks business model: There is no strategy. Weve got loads on our slate. We just go for things we love and so when we pitch for them, the enthusiasm is genuine. And writers like J.P. Delaney, who we pitched for, we were up against big studios who had lots more money than us. We partnered with StudioCanal and, he adds, full of praise for his business partner, Kittys a genius. Shes such a good producer and Ive learned so much from her. We wouldnt be anywhere without her and I just owe her so much. The company is so much based on her brilliance.

Kaletsky, previously of Number 9 Films, Archery Pictures and Black Bear Pictures, lived for four years in L.A., running Oscar-winning Black Bears TV department. With Rabbit Track, she and Norton (also executive producers) have recently wrapped the eight-episode King Conqueror, produced by The Development Partnership, Shepherd Content, RVK Studios and CBS Studios, in association with the BBC.

The period drama arriving on our screens this year is written by Michael Robert Johnson, with the opening episode directed by Baltasar Kormku. It follows Norton as Harold, Earl of Wessex, and Game of Thrones alum Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as William, Duke of Normandy, through the clash that defined the future of a country and a continent for 1000 years. Two men, destined to meet at the Battle of Hastings in 1066, and two allies with no design on the British throne who found themselves forced by circumstance and personal obsession into a war for possession of its crown.

Its the biggest piece of history in our country, and its never been told, Norton says of the century-old conflict. This show was six years in the making. Weve got a really fucking great show, and were really excited to share it. Its been a long process.

Is there any behind-the-scenes perspective on the making of King Conqueror that the actor-producer is willing to divulge? It was terrifying, he admits. Kitty and I had such imposter syndrome walking onto that set and going, How the fuck have we created this world? Ed Clark, Michael Johnson, the writer, they had been sitting on this idea for many, many years, and then they brought it to me before [Rabbit Track] existed.

He continues: Kitty came on board and she basically provided the momentum needed to get it made. And suddenly we were on a set with Juliet Stevenson, Eddie Marsan and Baltasar Kormku directing. Weve got huge studio builds with massive French castles and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. It was nuts But we kept our cool.

Norton and co-star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Harold, Earl of Wessex and William, Duke of Normandy in the upcoming King Conqueror. BBC A deeply personal story is not sacrificed for high-budget grandeur, Norton adds. William and Harold met many times and became friends. Youve got this horrible tragedy at the heart of it, where at some point in their friendship, they looked at each other and realized that because of the world and the way Europe was being carved up, these two friends would end up on a battlefield and one of them would have to die.

Its quite the diverse mix for Rabbit Track Pictures so far. Its character-driven, prestige drama, Norton says, seemingly figuring out his summary of their tastes in talking about it. This is going to sound waffly, but its relationships, parents, children [and] how complicated, nuanced, interesting individuals relate. Thats what interests us the most.

Let it be known that Norton and Kaletsky are not opposed to film opportunities quite the opposite. Despite their focus on TV, Rabbit Track is also involved in four movies. When Kitty and I get given a book or an idea, one of the very first conversations we have is: Is it going to be TV or film? he says. The truth is, we have about four movies and we love our films. One of them is getting quite close.

But financially and commercially, the money is in TV, he adds. Its much, much easier to get a TV show made and we need to put money in the bank in order to maintain our overheads and keep the lights on. So generally, we want to make more TV.

Its hard not to wonder about Nortons self-assessment of his career so far with so many buzzy projects shows and films on the horizon. After all, he currently sits in the comfortable space between U.K. stardom and Hollywood recognition. The question, he says, has prompted an urge to do exactly that: James Norton needs to take stock. And what about that trip to Japan?

When youre in the work, its hard to see the wood from the trees, he says. Youre just on that wonderful rush and that adventure and it carries you with it. But all actors and anyone in the creative industry need to live a bit and breathe. I havent been doing enough living. Perhaps, come January, Im going to focus more on [Rabbit Track] and take a break. Im very lucky, Im not complaining about being busy because its been an amazing run, but it has been intense.

So, yeah, the trip to Japan. See my mum and dad up in North Yorkshire. Go hiking a lot I love walking. A bit of space. Like a true workaholic, he adds: Having said that, every time you say youre going to take a break, thats when your agents come along with the dream job

Playing Nice is now available to stream on ITVX.