Alex Norton
Encyclopedia
Alexander Hugh "Alex" Norton (born 27 January 1950) is a Scottish
actor
. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart
, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects
.
Norton was born in Househillwood
and spent his childhood in Moffat Street in the Gorbals
before moving to Pollokshaws
. He discovered acting at the age of 14 via an out-of-school drama group. This led to his part in the TV series Dr. Finlay's Casebook
and with it the decision that acting was what he wanted to concentrate on. Because of his background and his father's lack of approval of his chosen career, Alex decided to avoid the traditional route into acting and instead worked from part to part. 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
's Gregory's Girl
and Local Hero
, Bill Douglas
's epic film Comrades, Little Voice
, Orphans
, and Hollywood blockbusters such as Patriot Games
with Harrison Ford, White Hunter, Black Heart, with Clint Eastwood
, Braveheart
starring Mel Gibson
, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
with Johnny Depp
.
Norton has also won two awards for writing. "Extras", an episode of First Sight for Channel 4
, 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.
Nowadays he is concentrating on playing DCI Burke in Taggart. His role in the show sees him working in Glasgow for half the year.
He has also done voice over work on Medieval Total War II as the voice of some of the Scottish Characters in the game.
He also appeared on The Weakest Link TV Drama Characters Edition. He was the 1st one voted off.
Norton also fronts the STV crime show Unsolved
.
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
. He is probably best known for his roles as DCI Matt Burke in Taggart
Taggart
Taggart is a Scottish detective television programme, created by Glenn Chandler, who has written many of the episodes, and made by STV Productions for the ITV network...
, and Eddie in the Renford Rejects
Renford Rejects
Renford Rejects was a teen sitcom produced and broadcast by Nickelodeon UK between 1998 and 2001. The show briefly aired in the United States on Nick GaS....
.
Norton was born in Househillwood
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and spent his childhood in Moffat Street in the Gorbals
Gorbals
The Gorbals is an area on the south bank of the River Clyde in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. By the late 19th century, it had become over-populated and adversely affected by local industrialisation. Many people lived here because their jobs provided this home and they could not afford their own...
before moving to Pollokshaws
Pollokshaws
Pollokshaws is a district on the southside of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. The housing stock mostly consists of some sandstone tenement housing, tower blocks and modern brick tenement-style buildings...
. He discovered acting at the age of 14 via an out-of-school drama group. This led to his part in the TV series Dr. Finlay's Casebook
Dr. Finlay's Casebook (TV & radio)
Dr. Finlay's Casebook is a television series that was broadcast on the BBC from 1962 until 1971. Based on A. J. Cronin's novella entitled Country Doctor, the storylines centred on a general medical practice in the fictional Scottish town of Tannochbrae during the late 1920s...
and with it the decision that acting was what he wanted to concentrate on. Because of his background and his father's lack of approval of his chosen career, Alex decided to avoid the traditional route into acting and instead worked from part to part. In 1973 he became one of the founder members of the 7:84
7:84
7:84 was a Scottish left-wing agitprop theatre group. The name comes from a statistic, published in The Economist in 1966, that 7% of the population of the UK owned 84% of the state's wealth....
company, touring Scotland with The Cheviot, the Stag, and the Black Black Oil
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 the popular Liverpudlian playwright John McGrath. From 1973, beginning at a venue in Aberdeen, it was performed in a touring production in community centres around Scotland by 7:84 and other community theatre groups...
.
He has appeared in numerous films including Bill Forsyth
Bill Forsyth
Bill Forsyth is a Scottish film director and writer, noted for his commitment to national film-making.Forsyth first came to attention with a low-budget film, That Sinking Feeling, made with youth theatre actors and featuring a cameo appearance by the Edinburgh gallery owner Richard Demarco...
's Gregory's Girl
Gregory's Girl
Gregory's Girl is a 1981 Scottish coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth.The film is set in and around a state secondary school in the Abronhill district of Cumbernauld. It features Gordon John Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, and Clare Grogan, among others...
and Local Hero
Local Hero
Local Hero is a 1983 Scottish comedy-drama film starring Peter Riegert and Burt Lancaster. It was directed by Bill Forsyth and produced by David Puttnam....
, Bill Douglas
Bill Douglas
William Gerald Forbes Douglas was a Scottish film director best known for the trilogy of films about his early life.-Biography:...
's epic film Comrades, Little Voice
Little Voice (film)
Little Voice is a 1998 British drama film with music written and directed by Mark Herman. The screenplay is based on the play The Rise and Fall of Little Voice by Jim Cartwright.- Plot :...
, Orphans
Orphans (film)
Orphans is a 1987 film directed by Alan J. Pakula. It was written by Lyle Kessler, based on his play.-Plot:Brothers Treat and Philip have lived alone since they were kids when a small time criminal enters their lives....
, and Hollywood blockbusters such as Patriot Games
Patriot Games (film)
Patriot Games is a 1992 film directed by Phillip Noyce and based on Tom Clancy's the novel of the same name. It is a sequel to the 1990 film The Hunt for Red October. In the movie, Jack Ryan is played by Harrison Ford, Jack's surgeon-wife, Dr...
with Harrison Ford, White Hunter, Black Heart, with Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
, Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
starring Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest is a 2006 adventure fantasy film and the second film of the Pirates of the Caribbean series, following Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl . It was directed by Gore Verbinski, written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, and produced by...
with Johnny Depp
Johnny Depp
John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II is an American actor, producer and musician. He has won the Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, becoming a teen idol...
.
Norton has also won two awards for writing. "Extras", an episode of First Sight for Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
, and Waiting for Elvis for STV. He also has an interest in directing. He directed the first production of Tony Roper
Tony Roper
Anthony Dean "Tony" Roper was a NASCAR driver. He was born in Springfield, Missouri, to Dean Roper and Shirley Medley. Growing up his family was heavily involved in auto racing. Roper started racing in 1986. For the next six years Tony raced in IMCA Modifieds and late models on Midwest dirt and...
's The Steamie
The Steamie
The Steamie is a comedy-drama stage play, written by Rab C. Nesbitt actor Tony Roper. It followed the lives of a group of 1950s Glasgow women washing their clothes in a public washhouse . It was first performed at the Crawford Theatre, Glasgow in 1987.A television version was made by Scottish...
, as well as directing Glasgow's King's Theatre's
King's Theatre, Glasgow
The King's Theatre is located in Glasgow, Scotland. It was built for Howard & Wyndham Ltd under its chairman Baillie Michael Simons as a sister theatre of their Theatre Royal in the city and was designed by Frank Matcham, opening in 1904. The theatre is primarily a receiving house for touring...
pantomimes for a five year period.
Nowadays he is concentrating on playing DCI Burke in Taggart. His role in the show sees him working in Glasgow for half the year.
He has also done voice over work on Medieval Total War II as the voice of some of the Scottish Characters in the game.
He also appeared on The Weakest Link TV Drama Characters Edition. He was the 1st one voted off.
Norton also fronts the STV crime show Unsolved
Unsolved (TV series)
Unsolved was a regional television documentary series produced by Grampian Television...
.