James Norton recalls working with Harvey Weinstein prior to #MeToo allegations

James Norton has recently shared his experience of working with Harvey Weinstein on 2016 hit series War & Peace.

In a latest interview with Independent, Norton recalled the “encounters” with Weinstein on the set of series adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s classic Russian novel.

According to Norton, Weinstein was an executive producer on the show while it was directed by directed by Tom Harper. Paul Dono and Lily James were also featured in the show

For the unversed, the show was aired before Weinstein was accused of sexual harassment during an investigation by The New York Times that led to the #MeToo movement.

Speaking of Weinstein, Norton revealed, “He visited the set once when I was there, flew in for an hour, it was a handshake situation... but he was much more a suit in the office providing cash for the co-production. He didn’t have much creative contribution.”

“My personal experience of Harvey Weinstein was fine. He was bombastic, rude and blustery, all the things you expect from an old-fashioned Hollywood producer,” stated the 37-year-old.

Norton continued, “I never witnessed any of the abuse, but I’d heard about it. And like a lot of actors, I was privy to the rumours and the reputation and had moments of self-reflection like, ‘Why did no one do anything?”

Reflecting on the show, Norton pointed out, “It’s sad to reflect on the fact it took so many victims for something to happen.”

“War & Peace was one of his last shows and I’m not going to lie, there were rumours about him. And now when you think back, how those rumours were there for decades – we weren’t the only show on which people were discussing Harvey had a reputation, an unsavoury one,” he added.