Kerry Norton is a British actress who has been acting for years, she was on the hit show Battlestar Galactica (one of my favorite shows of all time) as Medic Layne Ishay. One of her more recent roles was as Mazus in Assassin’s Guild and in the fantasy film Warlord from 2025. She is also a trained singer and professional dancer as well; she has performed in West End musicals.
We talked about her role in Warlord and her favorite role ever. You’ve got to read to find out which one is her favorite. She also shares with me advice she would give to an actor.
Introducing Kerry…
What do you love about your life right now?
Watching my three children as they enter into adulthood and anticipating their future possibilities. It’s such an exciting time for them. They are my pride and joy, and one thing my husband and I definitely got right!
You have been acting for almost 30 years, starting with your first TV appearance in Sabrina the Teenage Witch, and continuing with film and stage work in your most recent one-woman show, titled Scaffolding, which was on stage in London in September. Was there a favorite actor, play, or film that inspired you to become one?
No, not really. I don’t really have favourites. I find it so hard to narrow down when I’m asked who my favourite actor, film, book, song, band, etc., is. I get so jealous when people say, “That book/film changed my life!” I’ve never really had that feeling where I’ve been so moved or changed by something that it propelled me into action. I started dancing at age five and we used to do yearly dance shows – I loved the applause and the buzz of performing; the hair, the makeup, the costumes, the lights, the music, the people, it’s addictive (“There’s no business like show business…”) so becoming an actor seemed like an obvious next step, although I had no clue how to go about it. I’m the only one in my family who followed a career in the arts, so when I moved to New York at twenty-two to attend drama school, I really was on my own, making it up as I went along.
You’re in the fantasy film Warlord, written and directed by Stuart Brennan. I loved your performance as Matilde in the film. It has been receiving international recognition, climbing the charts, and heading toward number one on Amazon in various countries. How does it feel to see the film having this success?
I’m delighted, especially for Stuart. He works so hard at what he does, and what he has created is really impressive; he is basically his own studio. I don’t know how he does it. There aren’t enough hours in the day, but somehow, he manages to write, produce, direct, star in, and run his empire! Hopefully, the success of the film will open more doors and give him access to bigger budgets so that he can make more films.
What did you love about being part of the film?
The collaboration with eager filmmakers, who were all really excited to be on the shoot. It was also really fun to finally feel what it’s like to be a character actress. It wasn’t my most flattering role, but there was something utterly liberating about not worrying or caring how I looked in a movie. Quite the opposite, the grottier, the better!!
Do you have a favorite scene in Warlord?
The fight scene in the dining hall where I look straight down the barrel of the lens and deliver a “donkey kiss”.
I know acting can be challenging as well as rewarding. Can you share with me the joys and challenges of acting?
I still to this day enjoy everything about the process, from the character building, the rehearsals, the make-up chair, to the performance. I love the people in the arts; they are my peeps! The challenge is getting the work – I haven’t had the career I wanted, but then I chose to be a hands-on mum to my three girls, so it took many years out. I think there have only been four or five years in my career where I actually made a living as an actress; the rest has been scraps here and there, and it’s felt more like a hobby. I’m hoping now that my girls have all left for university that I can commit to it again and carve out a career. The good thing about acting is that art imitates life, so there are roles for all ages (or should be). Also, I’m hoping that many of my successful peers will get bored of their success and retire, and then I can sweep in and take their place!
Do you have a favorite role that you have performed? If so, why?
Every role I’ve performed is my favourite because it means I got a job! The role of Sheridan in Scaffolding, (the one-woman show I’m currently performing in), is definitely the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. First of all, learning a forty-nine-page monologue when you’re peri-menopausal and have brain fog is a massive feat in itself, but to be on stage alone for seventy minutes is quite grueling – you really have to find inventive ways of bringing the energy when you have no cast-mates to bounce off. It’s both terrifying and exhilarating. I’ve also discovered so much about my process as an actor – it might sound obvious, but knowing your lines beyond just knowing your lines makes the world of difference. I used to be of the school of thought that by not over-learning your lines you really listen to the other actor and have a more naturalistic response as you search for what to say, however, performing the same monologue night after night you start to find the true sentiment and meaning behind what you are saying, then you stop thinking about the words themselves and instead inhabit the character and what speaking those words in particular mean to that character, and where they are coming from. I’m constantly having an epiphany on stage when I deliver a line and suddenly realise, “That’s what that line means!”. Something clicks, and you open another door to the character’s journey. I’m not sure that made any sense to anyone other than me!!
Who are your biggest supporters?
Definitely my kids and my husband. My husband is also an actor, so he knows all about the highs and lows, the self-doubt and jubilations. He is also fully aware that by my willingness to move countries and houses with three children in tow, to facilitate his career, that he can’t be anything other than grateful and supportive!! My children know the realities of this business, they’ve witnessed how thick-skinned you have to be, how much rejection and disappointment is involved, but they’ve also seen how happy we are when we’re working, so they really encourage us to keep at it. It’s nice that they are now of an age where they can actually watch things we’ve been in. During Covid and the lockdown, we watched all of Battlestar Galactica with them. They absolutely loved it, and of course, it was fun for them to see some of our closest friends on screen, friends they also spent five years with in Vancouver, where we filmed. They were too young at the time to understand what we were all doing there, so to finally piece together the jigsaw was really great to witness. They’ve also not done badly from it; they’ve lived in Vancouver, LA, and France, spent a month in Australia and Malaysia due to us filming, have some really cool actor godparents, and have been in some of our projects themselves. Surprisingly, though, they are not all rushing out to train to be actors!
Kerry, this is one of my favorite parts of the chat. Tell me three fun facts about yourself.
- My party trick is nicknamed “The Crab”. It’s a maneuver that involves me putting my legs over my shoulders, then scuttling along the floor (hard to describe really). It looks weird, though, and you have to be an ex-gymnast/dancer to perform it!
- My debut album, “Young Hearts” (an album of jazzy covers I released in Holland) entered the album charts at number 15 – above the Rolling Stones and Barbra Streisand.
- I can sing the old Um Bongo advert twice through without taking a breath. You have to be of a certain age to remember that advert!
Is there any advice that you could offer to someone who wants to be an actor?
Be patient, you have to be in it for the long game. Get used to rejection and don’t take it personally. A dear friend of ours, Edward James Olmos, told us years ago to start making our own stuff, not to wait for the phone to ring and rely on your agent, go out and be proactive, and make your own work. Of course, we didn’t listen back then!
I love ending my chats with a motivational quote. Do you have one that has encouraged you or motivated you that I can share with my readers?
“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time,” Thomas Edison.
Thank you for reading my chat with Kerry.
Check out her IMDB