Fresh from last year’s TV epic, ‘War and Peace’, James Norton will be starring in another big-budget series, with a lead role in the BBC’s brand new thriller ‘McMafia’.
Following the international triumph of ‘Peaky Blinders’ and ‘The Night Manager’, the BBC will no doubt be hoping to capture the same global audience with this epic tale of a family gone bad, and are spending a reported £2million an episode.
Based on the best-selling novel by Misha Glenny, ‘McMafia’ tells the story of a family whose murderous past comes back to haunt them, with James starring Alex Godman, a young man raised by Russian exiles with a mafia history, but who has spent his life trying to escape the shadow of that criminal past.
Today sees the release of the first image from the eight-part series, where we see James’ character Alex at a family funeral, alongside his mother Oksana, played by Maria Shukshina.
When we first meet him, Alex is building his own legitimate business and forging a life with his girlfriend Rebecca (Juliet Rylance). However, Alex is soon forced to confront his values to protect those he loves.
‘McMafia’ is currently filming in London, with production set to move soon to Croatia.
Joining James are David Strathairn (’The Bourne Ultimatum’, ‘Good Night, Good Luck’), Faye Marsay (’Love Nina’, ‘Game Of Thrones’), Juliet Rylance (’The Knick’, ‘Frances Ha’), and Maria Shukshina (’Yolki 3’, ‘Terrorist Ivanona’) as Oksana.
James Norton’s star continues to rise. He remains among the favourites to be chosen to fill the shoes of Daniel Craig as the next 007. His versatility has been proven with his role of a jazz-loving vicar in ‘Grantchester’, the psychotic Tommy Lee Royce in ‘Happy Valley’ and a soul-searching prince in last year’s Russian epic ‘War and Peace’. Is there nothing he can’t do?