James Norton, the actor from Happy Valley, recently talked about how men should respond to the MeToo movement. In an interview with Radio Times, he shared his thoughts on how men today are living in a time where there’s an effort to correct the wrongs of the past, especially regarding gender inequality and misconduct.
Norton explained that many men mistakenly think they should be passive or step back in a post-MeToo world. However, he believes this is wrong. Instead, he thinks men should take action and be proactive in addressing issues like misconduct. He said men should stand up for what’s right, rather than just staying quiet or letting things happen.
“What interested me was the question of what it is to be a modern man, post-MeToo, with the attempt to rebalance the patriarchal crimes of the past,” he said.
“With a lot of men, there’s a misconception that what we should be doing is making space, stepping back and almost becoming passive.”
These ideas tie into Norton’s role in the upcoming ITV series Playing Nice, where he plays a character named Pete. In the show, Pete has to deal with a controlling and bullying character named Miles. Norton said that Pete learns he needs to be proactive and sometimes confrontational, instead of letting Miles get away with bad behavior.
“You have to be proactive and, sometimes, confrontational.”
Norton also talked about the rumors that he might play James Bond. While he hasn’t confirmed anything, he said last year that there’s no solid news about it. He found the media attention around the idea fun but said it was all just speculation.
“It’s lots of quite fun and bemusing media coverage.”
