Graham Norton

Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by the stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish television and radio presenter, comedian, and actor based in the United Kingdom. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy chat show The Graham Norton Show. Previously shown on BBC Two, it took the prestigious Friday night slot on BBC One from Jonathan Ross in 2010. He also presents on BBC Radio 2 and is the BBC television commentator of the Eurovision Song Contest, which led Hot Press to describe him as "the 21st century's answer to Terry Wogan". Norton is known for his innuendo-laden dialogue and flamboyant presentation style. In 2012, he sold his production company, So Television, to ITV for around £17 million.

Early life and career

Norton was born in Clondalkin, a suburb of Dublin, but grew up in Bandon, County Cork, Ireland. His family are Protestant. His father's family were from County Wicklow, while his mother was from Belfast. He was educated at Bandon Grammar School, in West Cork, and then University College, Cork (U.C.C.), where he spent two years studying English and French in the 1980s but did not complete his studies. In June 2013 he received an honorary doctorate from University College Cork; he occasionally mentions this in order to win on-air arguments on his BBC Radio 2 show.

The Graham Norton Show

The Graham Norton Show is a British comedy chat show broadcast on BBC One in the United Kingdom. It was shown on BBC Two from February 2007 to May 2009 and has been on BBC One since October 2009. Presented by Irish comedian Graham Norton, the show's format is very similar to his previous Channel 4 programmes, So Graham Norton and V Graham Norton, both of which were also produced by So Television.

Programming

BBC Two

The show mirrors So and V with strong adult humour along with Graham's monologue at the beginning of the show and often a musical guest to play out over the credits. Although the rude objects in "Graham's drawer" did not survive, the phone calls and hidden camera surprises have. These surprises are sometimes based around the guests, such as Sarah Beeny's dating website, a TARDIS on the South Bank when David Tennant appeared and a wine-tasting group drinking Gérard Depardieu's wine whilst he was on the show. Some of the surprises, such as the wine-tasting, have been arranged through ideas submitted by viewers, stating where they will be when the show is recorded.

Mark Ruffalo

Mark Alan Ruffalo (/ˈrʌfəloʊ/, born November 22, 1967) is an American actor, director, humanitarian and producer. He made his screen debut in an episode of CBS Summer Playhouse in 1989, followed by minor film roles in the first two Mirror, Mirror sequels (1994-1995) and The Dentist (1996). He was part of the original cast of This Is Our Youth (1996), which led to a critically acclaimed performance in You Can Count On Me (2000), for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead. Following his breakthrough, he had roles in 13 Going on 30 (2004), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004), Zodiac (2007) and What Doesn't Kill You (2008). In 2010, he starred in Martin Scorsese's psychological thriller Shutter Island, the crime comedy Date Night, and the comedy-drama The Kids Are All Right. For the latter, her received nominations for the SAG, BAFTA, Critics' Choice, Indie Spirit, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Ruffalo gained international prominence by portraying the Marvel Comics character Dr. Bruce Banner / the Hulk in The Avengers (2012) and Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). He starred in and was the co-executive producer of the 2014 television drama film The Normal Heart, for which he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor in a Television Movie. The same year, he portrayed Dave Schultz in Bennett Miller's Foxcatcher, for which he was nominated for the SAG, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. In 2015, he was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for Infinitely Polar Bear and also received nominations for the Critics' Choice, BAFTA, and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in the drama Spotlight.

Patrick Stewart

Sir Patrick Stewart OBE (born 13 July 1940) is an English actor whose career has included roles on stage, television, and film. Beginning his career with a long run with the Royal Shakespeare Company, his first major screen roles were in BBC-broadcast television and film during the mid-late 1970s, including Hedda and the miniseries I, Claudius. In the 1980s, he began working in American television and film, with roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and its successor films; as Professor Charles Xavier in the X-Men series of superhero movies; and voice roles including CIA deputy director Avery Bullock in American Dad! and narrating the film Ted and its sequel. He currently stars in the Starz TV series Blunt Talk. In 1993, TV Guide named him the best dramatic television actor of the 1980s.

Early life

Patrick Stewart was born on 13 July 1940 in Mirfield, in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England, to Gladys (née Barrowclough), a weaver and textile worker, and Alfred Stewart, a Regimental Sergeant Major in the British Army. He has two older brothers, Geoffrey (b. 28 January 1925, Mirfield) and Trevor (b. 10 August 1935, Mirfield).

Norton

Norton may refer to:

In business

Places

Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include:

England