If you remember James Norton’s charming performance as the jazz-loving Reverend Sidney Chambers in ITV’s Grantchester, the idea of an even better drama might be, well, a little bit hard to fathom. But the 40-year-old actor, who sadly left his clerical collar behind in 2019, is about to bring us exactly that thanks to his superb new role in Guy Ritchie’s personal new drama, Wife & Dog.
The film will take us into the lives of the British aristocracy - the wealthy Fairbank family, in particular - and a battle for succession that will rival some of the best we’ve seen on screen (we’re looking at you House of Guinness and Succession). For Ritchie, who has already tapped into the world of the aristocracy before in The Gentlemen and whose own mother married an impoverished aristocrat, it’ll be a return to familiar territory – and one that will no doubt prove very watchable indeed.
While we patiently wait for Wife & Dog to arrive on our screens, here’s everything you need to know about James’s new role, including the plot, cast and how to watch it.
What is Wife & Dog about?
Written and directed by Guy Ritchie, the 120-minute film is a black comedy that will follow the relentless greed of the Fairbank family and their associates who fuel betrayal and murder in the battle for succession. While full plot details are being kept under wraps, according to Variety, the film will see Ritchie return to the backstabbing world of British aristocracy, one that fans will be familiar from his hit Netflix series, The Gentlemen, and 2019 film.
The film will be produced by Ritchie, alongside his longtime producing partner Ivan Atkinson and John Friedberg, with Teddy Schwarzman and Michael Heimler serving as executive producers. As has become typical of Ritchie’s projects, the drama boasts an all-star cast, including James Norton, Rosamund Pike and Anthony Hopkins. You can check out the full cast below.
It’s expected to be a big role for Norton, who recently addressed rumours that his next performance would, in fact, be as James Bond. He told Vulture: “Nearly every interview for ten years, I've been asked, ‘So … James Bond?’ Part of me is like, Wow, I'm getting old. Part of me is relieved because when I really spent time thinking about it, it would always have been a mixed bag. It's an honour and it's iconic and it's a big cost.
"Good luck to whoever young whippersnapper takes the role. I'll be sitting there with my pipe and my book and my slippers."
Who’s in the cast of Wife & Dog?
The cast of Wife & Dog includes:
- James Norton (The Nevers)
- Tomás Paredes (The King's Man)
- Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl)
- Anthony Hopkins (The Father)
- Paddy Considine (MobLand)
- Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock)
- Cosmo Jarvis (Warfare)
- Will Bayliss-Brown (Heads of State)
- Lee Fisher (Andor)
- Pip Torrens (The Nevers)
- Patrick Pearson (Poldark)
- Malcolm Shepherd (Meet the Team)
How can I watch Wife & Dog?
Sadly, we’ve got a bit of time to wait before Wife & Dog arrives on our screens as the cinema release date has recently been pushed back to Friday 19th February 2027. In the meantime, you can catch up on some of James Norton’s other dramas below.
What other James Norton dramas can I watch now?
If you fancy seeing a darker side of James Norton, we’d recommend watching Things Heard & Seen. The chilling film revolves a couple, played by James and Amanda Seyfried, who leave Manhattan for small-town life upstate. And what should result in a more peaceful life quickly turns sinister. You can watch Things Heard & Seen now on Netflix. For a series with real-life roots, we’d suggest Mr Jones. Based on the real-life story of journalist Gareth Jones, the story follows Jones as he travels to Soviet Russia in 1933 and proceeds to sneak into Ukraine where he exposes the truth about the devastating Holodomor famine and the horrifying impact of Stalin's policies. Mr Jones is available to watch on Prime Video.
