James Norton has revealed he put off having children because it ‘would not have been fair’ to have them while his career was so busy.

The actor, 39, split from his ex-fiancée Imogen Poots, 35, before Christmas, with their breakup being announced in February.

Although he is single again, James is thinking about starting a family one day, admitting there’s less pressure on men to ‘rush’ into having kids.

Speaking to The Sunday Times, he said: ‘I love hanging out with kids — most of my friends have kids so I’m not quite in step with my peers — but the past few years have been the busiest I’ve been, so it would not have been fair to bring a child into that. 

‘Also, the inherently unfair benefit of being a man is there is less rush. I am lucky I can have kids later, so now I’m happy, actually, with my life. I feel really excited by the choices I’ve made.’

James Norton has revealed he put off having children because it ‘would not have been fair’ to have them while his career was so busy

The actor, 39, split from his ex-fiancée Imogen Poots, 35, before Christmas , with their breakup being announced in February

James also admitted his recent break-up with Imogen was not his decision.  

He said: ‘Getting older is a struggle if you are freaking out about the choices you’ve made, but I don’t carry regret. And, you know, some of the choices recently weren’t mine, yet I don’t feel begrudging. Maybe next year I’ll have a family and a relationship.’

It emerged that James’s ex Imogen tried to keep their heartbreaking split a secret.

Despite splitting late last year, the pair decided to keep their break-up on the down low, with a source close to the pair telling MailOnline: ‘Imogen, for whatever reason, didn’t want people to know.’ 

The ‘free-spirited’ actress previously spoke about how she ‘wasn’t ready to slow down’ as she wanted to travel the world.

However, James has been open about his hopes of wanting a family and admitted three years ago that his ‘broody barometer is kicking off’.

Imogen split her time between New York and London, but previously insisted: ‘I have never known anything to fall apart due to distance’. 

She told The Evening Standard back in 2020: ‘It’s all I’ve ever known. I find work to be my happy place, in a way. Because it’s all I’ve ever known: packing up a bag and moving on.

Although he is single again, James is thinking about starting a family one day, admitting there’s less pressure on men to ‘rush’ into having kids

James also admitted his recent break-up with Imogen was not his decision (pictured in 2023)

‘That restlessness that’s inherent in you is very addictive. And I suppose now I’m supposed to slow down and set up a farm or something. But I’m not ready to do that. I want to keep exploring the world.’ 

James previously said his 2020 film, Nowhere Special, in which he played the dying father of a three-year-old boy, kicked off his desire to become a dad.

He told The Guardian in 2021: ‘I’m mid-30s, I’ve always wanted a family, my sister has kids, my broody barometer is kicking off anyway.’

In an interview last year to promote the Happy Valley finale, James said of his busy acting life: ‘It comes as a cost because you don’t see each other a lot, but we are willing to pay that for the benefit of having someone in your life close to you who gets it, who is forgiving, who will give up their Sunday to do an annoying self-tape.’

‘James and Imogen have extremely busy work lives and it has made it difficult for them to see each other,’ a source told The Sun amid their split.

The couple’s romance began in December 2017 after they met during a run of the play Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse (Pictured)

Imogen was last seen with James at Wimbledon in July last year

‘They grew apart and split up last year. It hasn’t been easy for either of them but they are keeping their heads down and getting on with things.’

The couple’s romance began in December 2017 after they met during a run of the play Belleville at the Donmar Warehouse.

In 2020, Imogen moved into James’s London pad, before setting up home together and after five years of dating they got engaged in February 2022.

Imogen was last seen with James at Wimbledon in July last year.