If you see James Norton out and about you might want to think twice before asking for an autograph, as he has admitted he hones his psychopath tendencies on people he meets in everyday life.

The Happy Valley actor is known for playing serial killer Tommy Lee Royce in the BBC police drama and told Marie Claire that to get into character, he liked to give his neighbours the cold shoulder.

James Norton
Usually much more cheerful: James Norton not in psychopath character (Ian West/PA)

He revealed: “I do mundane things like go shopping or cycle round town and find myself looking at people, just thinking, ‘F*** you. Get out of my f***ing way’.

“Or giving a hateful look to the person innocently selling me my Granny Smith. I probably made a lot of enemies when I first moved to Peckham, wandering around as a psychopath.”

To read the feature in full, see the August issue of Marie Claire, out today. Also available as a digital edition through Apple Newsstand.