Richard Norton (actor, born 1970)

1990–1993

In 1989, aged 19, Norton was cast as Ryan McLachlan in the soap opera Neighbours.^[10] The role marked his first "proper" acting job, following parts in school productions, radio voice-over work,^[10] and a commercial about the dangers of drink-driving.^[11] Norton auditioned for the role just as he was starting a hotel traineeship.^[10] He was cast along with Jeremy Angerson (Josh Anderson), whom he met at the auditions. Both actors were hired as replacements for the departing Craig McLachlan, who played Henry Ramsay.^[10] Norton reckoned he was chosen for his looks first, stating: "They do go for the looks. There's got to be some talent there, too, but I think you've just got to be natural."^[10] He was given a one-year contract,^[12] and had to leave his home for filming.^[11] Norton's character was billed as "a natural, athletic type" similar to Craig McLachlan's. He was given instant connections to the teen characters when he joins Erinsborough High.^[10] Ryan also embarked on a romance with an older woman, played by Kirstie Grant. Norton called his character "awkward in this situation", but found it easy to work with Grant on the storyline.^[11]

In December 1990, less than a year in the role, Norton's contract was not renewed and he was written out of the serial.^[12] He admitted that he was "counting on the next six months to be working", but accepted that was how things went in the acting industry.^[12] He felt that he had learnt a lot from his first television experience, but wished he had decided on how to play his character from the start. Norton admitted that he had been scared and it was months before producers worked out what he could do.^[12] He added that he would have liked more communication from writers and directors about his character.^[12] Norton's final scenes in Neighbours were broadcast in March 1991.^[13] A month later, it was announced that he would coming to the UK to play Simple Simon in a pantomime production of Jack and the Beanstalk at the Chatham Central Theatre in December.^[7]

In August 1991, David Brown of TV Week reported that Norton had joined the cast of fellow soap opera Home and Away.^[13] Brown reported that his casting came at a time when Neighbours and Home and Away were battling to poach actors from one another, which began after the latter signed Craig McLachlan.^[13] Norton became one of only a few actors to appear in both soaps.^[14] He was given a two-year contract to play 16 year old Simon Fitzgerald. He was 20 years old at the time of his casting.^[13] Simon joined the show's teens Sophie Simpson (Rebekah Elmaloglou) and Blake Dean (Les Hill) in Year 11 at Summer Bay High. He was described as charming, particularly with the girls, "sharp and witty", and able to pull off pranks without getting caught.^[13] That same year, Norton filmed a role in the Seven Network miniseries Good Vibrations.^[13]

Norton had his contract with Home and Away cut short in March 1992.^[15] Norton felt that he was working hard on the show, so it came as a shock when the producers decided it was time for Simon to leave.^[16] Norton said that the producers told him that Simon "had done his bit" and they wanted to promote new actors Matt Doran and Dieter Brummer.^[16] Norton liked the way his character was written out, with Simon leaving to reconcile with his father, but he admitted he would have stayed if the producers had asked.^[16] Norton returned to the UK to be with his girlfriend, and he attended a number of auditions for television and theatre work.^[16] He played Prince Charming in the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs pantomime at the Alban Arena from December 1992 until January 1993.^[17] Norton was hired to present the second series of children's television show Parallel 9 in April 1993.^[18][19] Of his role, Norton commented "Presenting sort of found me really, Parallel 9 is such an original show that I thought it was an opportunity to do something different that was too good to miss."^[18] Norton's former Neighbours co-star Lucinda Cowden later replaced him as the Earth Base presenter.^[1][20]

1994–present

After Parallel 9, Norton starred in the stage musical 99 Heyworth Street as sailor Laurie Baldwin at the Liverpool Playhouse.^[3] He was then cast as the streetwise, "rough" kid Treat in a production of Orphans at the Gatehouse Theatre in September 1994.^[2] He also appeared in the 1994–1995 pantomime production of Dick Whittington at the Barnsley Civic.^[21] In June 1995, he played the shepherd Silvius in As You Like It at Stafford Castle.^[22]

From December 1995, Norton played Australian Shane Cochran in the British soap opera Brookside.^[23] His character's backstory was similar to his own personal background as Shane is a soap opera star who comes over to the UK to appear in panto.^[24] Shane's notable storylines included a romance with Jacqui Dixon (Alex Fletcher) and a drug addiction.^[24][25] Norton revealed that he would not be in the show for long, stating: "It's quite interesting how the romance finishes as it has a lasting effect on Jacqui's life. But Shane doesn't get her pregnant!"^[23]

In February 1996, Norton appeared in the European premiere production of Dead White Males at Nuffield Theatre in Southampton, alongside Lucinda Cowden.^[25] He then appeared in an open-air production of Macbeth at Stafford Castle,^[26] filmed a role in the Paramount Pictures film The Saint,^[9][27] and played the narrator in the Beauty and the Beast panto at the Music Hall, Shrewsbury.^[9] Norton almost appeared in a fourth soap opera after auditioning for a part in Coronation Street. However, he began concentrating more on his stage career and appeared in various productions in the UK. Although he hoped to do the same in Australia, he admitted that there were better prospects in Britain.^[28]

He was part of the 1997 touring cast of comedy play The Surprise Party, along with Matthew Kelly and Ruth Madoc,^[28] before playing Buttons in the Cinderella pantomime at the Towngate Theatre, Poole.^[29] In February 1998, he guested in an episode of the ITV teen drama series Wavelength.^[30] A few months later, Norton began teaching drama to students at the Hayley Johnston School of Dance and Drama in Sevenoaks.^[31] He appeared in the title role of the pantomime Dick Whittington at the Lyceum Theatre from 12 December 1998 until 10 January 1999.^[32] In August 1999, Norton guested in an episode of the British police drama The Bill,^[33] before he reunited with Cowden in the Welsh play Killing Kangaroos which was staged at the Taliesin Arts Centre in October.^[34] In 2001, Norton played an Australian sergeant in the British television film Sword of Honour.^[35]

Norton went onto work as a theatre technician, events manager, freelance assistant production manager for the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre, before taking a role as a production manager for the Welsh National Opera.^[36] He oversaw a touring production of Figaro Gets a Divorce by Elena Langer in 2016, following its premiere at the Wales Millennium Centre.^[36]

Television

Theatre