BBC Happy Valley actor James Norton has described playing psychopath Tommy Lee Royce as "liberating", but the role has come with some fans who get very carried away when they see him. He has described moments when they have "screamed" and "grabbed" him because they think they have been confronted by an evil killer.
The Granchester and McMafia star was discussing how some fans of the show react when they see him in real life during a question and answer session at the BFI about the final series.
The role as the dangerous killer and rapist was the 37-year-old's breakthrough role, and he has returned for the final series after a seven-year gap. Fans of the show are delighted, but he has been speaking about times when he does get confused with his evil character, who is currently serving life in prison. Is Happy Valley the greatest ever UK drama? Vote here
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He told the session about one incident while he was out and about near where he lives.
Laughing he said: "In the first series, a lady came up to me in my local area and totally, randomly grabbed me by the shirt, shook me and said 'You're a monster!
"Then sort of woke up and said 'Oh God. I don't know you, I'm so sorry', and then sort of straightened me out"
There was also an incident a festival, when one woman screamed when she thought she had been confronted by the evil killer.
"I remember someone at a festival, I was dancing to a band and turned around. I think she had had a few drinks and she just yelped, screamed as I turned and looked at her because she was confronted by Tommy Lee Royce," she said.
Speaking about playing such a character, the actor said: “There was something. I don’t know… like a lot of people, I worry what people think about me all the time and I’m probably overly anxious about that kind of thing and Tommy doesn’t care at all.
“He just wanders around and it’s a sad state of being because he doesn’t need anyone, he doesn’t know really what it is to love or show vulnerability - apart from very small amounts to Ryan. But there was something incredibly liberating.”
In the latest episode, Sergeant Catherine Cawood (played by Sarah Lancashire) has found out that her grandson Ryan has been going to visit his dad in prison behind her back.
Reflecting on why people continued to find these sinister types so compelling, Norton said: “The psychopath thing for me, playing him was so exciting and rewarding because you get to take a journey into a mind, which you would just otherwise read about and you probably wouldn’t find much compassion really because on paper he’s a monster.
“To understand someone like Tommy from an empathetic point of view is just the greatest beauty of what do [as actors].
“It’s lovely. You’re required to find that empathy and it’s a different type of learning from just reading about psychopathy. But generally people, we love the fringes of humanity. We love the sort of subversive stuff. It’s fascinating.”
Happy Valley airs on BBC One on Sundays at 9pm
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