James Norton Reveals A LITTLE LIFE Was 'The Hardest Thing I've Ever Done'

In a recent interview with The Times, James Norton shared that he struggled mentally while working on the play A Little Life, a production in which he starred in London in 2023. The play, an adaptation of the book by Hanya Yanagihara, is four hours long and details sexual abuse, featuring scenes with Norton's character, Jude, being naked, covered in blood, and having flashbacks to the abuse he experienced as a child.

“It was the hardest thing I’ve done,” Norton shared. “I was naive. I thought I would be able to apply my philosophy to split work and life, but without sounding overly worthy, it felt so important because some people who came to see the play were survivors of abuse."

However, the role took a toll on him more than he had expected. Norton went on to share some of the details of his negative experiences working on the play and how he struggled mentally during his time in it.

"But if the work starts to compromise one’s relationships, it can become unhealthy," he said. "Suddenly you realise you haven’t left any space for other people and so I was pissed off with that. We did the play 180 times. I was a mess, having panic attacks."

But then, by the end of his run in the show, Norton said that he had come to terms with it and ended up feeling better.

"By the end I felt incredible," he said. "I was exhausted and hurting, but months after the show finished I was talking to the producer and said we should do it again.

Read the full story on The Times.