EXCLUSIVEJames Norton reveals his most awkward Hollywood moment at party with Leonardo DiCaprio that was so painful he left straight away

He is one of Britain’s most recognisable actors on stage and screen with high-profile roles in hit television dramas Happy Valley, Grantchester and McMafia.

But James Norton has revealed his public humiliation at feeling snubbed by Leonardo DiCaprio.

The 39-year-old who played psychopathic killer Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, had attended the party with Mamma Mia star Amanda Seyfried, who starred alongside James in the 2021 horror mystery Things Heard & Seen.

But when the pair approached ‘the most absurd’ seating area filled with Hollywood A-listers including 50-year-old DiCaprio, Spiderman star Tobey Maguire and Oscar winner Brie Larson, James said Leo only made room for the women.

Recalling the embarrassing incident during an interview at the Leicester Square Theatre last weekend, Norton said: ‘I had the most awkward conversation, the most horrible celebrity encounter. It was so painful.’

James Norton has revealed his public humiliation at feeling snubbed at a party by Leonardo DiCaprio. The 39-year-old who played psychopathic killer Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, had attended the party with Mamma Mia star Amanda Seyfried

James Norton is one of Britain’s most recognisable actors on stage and screen with high-profile roles in hit television dramas Happy Valley, Grantchester and McMafia (Pictured: James Norton as Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley)

James Norton pictured with Mamma Mia star Amanda Seyfried while filming the 2021 horror mystery Things Heard & Seen

‘Leo looks towards me and Amanda and says, “Amanda, come in, come in” and stands up and makes room for her.

‘So she walks into the booth and sits next to Leo and then Leo stands there, looking at me going [shrugs his shoulders].’

The unwelcome gesture left the heartthrob feeling awkward and he walked out.

‘There’s no room for me, basically. So I’m standing in this booth, all of these people looking at me.

‘Im there with my glass, and eventually I’m like, “Oh, don’t worry.” And I kid you not, I turned around and walked straight home. I went, I left.’

Norton was speaking at The Theatrical Guild’s An Audience With event last Sunday, which attracted a sell-out audience of 400 people and saw Norton interviewed by his childhood friend, actress Claire Cartwright.

The intimate chat saw the actor ‘laugh at the absurdity’ of being labelled a ‘heartthrob’ – and open up about being bullied at his Roman Catholic boarding school, Ampleforth College, in York.

‘The school wasn’t so pleasant for me,’ he said. ‘I’ve come to realise, through good therapy, that a lot of actors are running away from some version of themselves, which the acting is a sort of anaesthetic for.’

Agreeing to taking on the challenging role of Jude St Francis in last year’s stage adaptation of Hanya Yanagihara’s bestselling novel, A Little Life was, in part, about ‘putting my bullied child on stage’, he said.

‘There’s this misconception that if you’re a successful actor, you get to escape into roles. While there’s a lovely form of escapism, there’s also the other part of it. 

When you’re on a billboard, the little bullied child in you goes, ‘Wow, I’m now unbullyable. I’m now very powerful.”’

James Norton revealed his humiliation at feeling snubbed by Leonardo Di Caprio (pictured) at a party filled with Hollywood A-listers

Heartthrob James Norton (pictured in McMafia) is also grateful that he was not handed professional success too early. ‘I don’t pity the Timothée Chalamet’s of the world,’ he admitted

Norton is now dating Prada model Charlotte Rose Smith, 29 (pictured) after his engagement to actress Imogen Poots ended last year

He shared a bittersweet anecdote about his first billboard appearance. ‘An ex-girlfriend once said, "Why don’t you do an anti-bullying campaign? Stand under the billboard and do this," mimicking a defiant middle finger. 

‘I never did it—I wish I had.’

His role in A Little Life famously involved appearing naked – which he found ‘terrifying’ - and confronting difficult topics including sexual abuse.

It led to him experiencing two weeks of such intense stage fright he nearly walked off stage.

‘I think I had a panic attack on stage,’ he said. ‘It was the scariest thing in the world. My whole stomach started sweating…and some big voice was going, you’re going to f*** it up. Once you let that demon in, it takes hold… it was horrible.’

Norton is now dating Prada model Charlotte Rose Smith, 29, after his engagement to actress Imogen Poots ended last year.

But he insisted he was a ‘gangly, spotty teenager’ and added: ‘I had no success with girls at all.’

He is also grateful that he was not handed professional success too early.

‘I don’t pity the Timothée Chalamet’s of the world,’ he admitted. 

‘I’m sure they’re having a lovely time, but personally, I’m grateful I’ve had a little experience on every rung of the ladder. That kind of incremental rise has been great for my work, but also just my own mental health and my own consensus of individuality.’

One of the first was being cast as villainous George Wickham in a childhood production of Pride and Prejudice – despite coveting the role of aristocratic Mr Darcy, made famous by Colin Firth in the BBC’s 1995 television adaptation.

‘I often get roles where they present as nice guys but have a heart of stone,’ he said.

‘I don’t know what that says about me trying to hide my psychopathy.’

The good news for Happy Valley fans is that he has not ruled resurrecting Tommy Lee Royce for a prequel – should writer Sally Wainwright ever pen one.

‘Whenever you do something special you’re greedy for more, obviously,’ he says. And if they called me up and said a prequel or something…’