James Norton says House of Guinness has "the DNA" of Peaky Blinders – but explains what makes it unique

Now, he has spoken with RadioTimes.com exclusively about the series, which he says has the DNA of Knight's most famous series, Peaky Blinders.

"The scripts are the first place at which one's interest is piqued, and these scripts were really, really strong," Norton said of House of Guinness, while speaking alongside his co-star Danielle Galligan. "I got four all at once, read them in one sitting, I think, and Steven’s writing… he's brilliant, he's in a league of his own, but he is really excelling here.

"He's firing on all cylinders. You can tell that he absolutely loved writing it, and it had the kind of DNA and texture of Peaky, but it was its own thing. And he writes in a way, he describes every scene at the beginning of it, you can see the chimneys of the brewery belching out black smoke, you can taste it in our breath, and you feel and breathe it immediately in the read.

"And so I was completely taken with it, knew what he was trying to create. And then reading Rafferty was obviously the other piece, along with the amazing cast and creative team. So when all those pieces came together, it was a complete no brainer."

When asked whether he could guess the twists and turns of the series before they came up in the scripts, Norton was unequivocal.

"No," he said. "Steven is constantly unpredictable, in that way good writers are."

However, he explained that the series is not "plot heavy", saying that is what he "loves" when it comes to Knight's writing.

"It's great in terms of plot," he explained. "It's great, the twists and turns and the momentum of the story barrels on in a wonderful, kind of exciting way. But what he also does is, unlike most writers, I think, he's confident enough in his characters and in his writing and in his dialogue, to sit with them.

"I think what most surprised me was that some of these scenes, especially later on, are like six pages long, and like a piece of theatre, he lets two people just sit in a room and talk, and for some reason, it's completely compelling.

"Whereas most writers would need an explosion or a quick scene change or something else, intercut with another scene, Steven just lets us breathe with them and be with them. And again, like a playwright, he's just incredibly confident. So yes, there's amazing plot, amazing twists and turns, and you've got loads to look forward to.

"But also, I guarantee that by the end of this you will be living and breathing these people in there lives, and you really do get to know them on a deep level."

When it comes to those characters, Norton said playing Rafferty was "wonderful" and "probably the most fun I've ever had".

"It's so good," he said. "He's a complete badass, and it was a delight to play. He's full of contradictions, which is always what you want from a role. He's kind of this unsolvable puzzle - you can kind of keep going into each of the corners. He's obviously terrifying, and uses violence when he needs to.

"He's the foreman of the brewery, so he runs the show, but he's also like a fixer, a bit of a gangster, and he uses violence when needed to kind of keep that grip of control. But he also has this amazing integrity and respect from other people, and humanity, and also has this amazing playfulness and swagger.

"You know, Tom Shankland, who’s our first director, he really pushed me into enjoying it. I think Rafferty loves being Rafferty and so it's a complete pleasure when you get to play that kind of role. And as I say, he sort of is the continually giving gift, because I still haven't quite worked him out. It's a mystery."

Alongside Norton, the eight-part Netflix series also stars Anthony Boyle, Louis Partridge, Emily Fairn and Fionn O'Shea.

House of Guinness is coming to Netflix on Thursday 25th September 2025 – sign up from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.

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