Happy Valley star James Norton: ‘Cold-water swimming is like sex’
Happy Valley star James Norton has likened outdoor cold-water swimming to sex.
Mr Norton, who scared the nation with his portrayal of serial murderer and rapist Tommy Lee Royce in Happy Valley, revealed that he had spent the winter cold-water swimming, which had improved his mental and emotional state.
In an interview with The Observer Magazine, the cold-water swimming enthusiast said that his hobby and sex were the two things that made him feel good and were free.
He said: “There are very few things in the world that make you feel good, are free and healthy: sex and cold-water swimming are pretty much it.”
The actor, who is also well-known for his role as Alex Goodman in BBC drama McMafia, is now such an advocate of cold-water immersion that he starts every day with a warm shower that he switches to cold, before swimming outdoors.
He said: “I have this mantra that I should get tattooed: ‘You never regret a swim.’ It just makes me feel so good.”
Mr Norton was speaking ahead of his new play, an adaptation of the Hanya Yanagihara book A Little Life, where he plays the lead role of of Jude St Francis, a disabled lawyer who has suffered physical and sexual abuse in his childhood.
The role sees him onstage for four hours, with the play running twice a day, on some days. Despite having initial reservations about the intense nature of the role, he said that it was his partner and fellow actor Imogen Poots who encouraged him to take it on.
He said: “That’s why theatre is so special, because it ultimately is throwing yourself into a situation where you are out of your comfort zone.” He added that when a play goes well, “you feel invincible, it’s like a drug”.
Reflecting on his own mental health, he revealed it had improved significantly since he started seeing a therapist once a week after beginning sessions in a moment of confusion.
“I’m lucky, it wasn’t a breakdown, and I don’t deal with depression, but like a lot of people, I have moments of anxiety and self-doubt. And shit just gets a lot and very loud.”
