2026’s Biggest Breakout Stars: How James Norton First Stole the Show in a Classic Fantasy Game
Norton’s voice acting range
Norton has appeared in projects including Happy Valley and Greta Gerwig’s Little Women. His roles have ranged from a charming reverend to a ruthless criminal, and his voice acting has brought two books to life.
In Dragon Age: Inquisition, Norton voices Cole, an unusual spirit who can sense and ease other people’s pain. His performance adds depth to a character whose story is among the game’s most tragic.
A world facing a breach
The game takes place in Thedas, a continent threatened by Blights, when Darkspawn from the Deep Roads taint a high dragon and create an Archdemon. Before the story begins, a civil war between mages and templars leads Divine Justinia to call a conclave.
An unknown enemy attacks the gathering, leaving one survivor marked on the right hand. A vast tear in the sky opens between Thedas and The Fade, a realm of spirits, demons and dreams. The survivor becomes known as the Herald of Andraste and later leads the Inquisition.
Cole joins the Inquisition
The Inquisitor travels across Thedas with companions, gathering allies, closing smaller rifts and fighting demons, rogue mages and templars. The journey also reveals that the ancient Tevinter Magister Corypheus was behind the attack on the conclave.
Players can recruit Cole through different routes. If they side with the Templars, he guides them during Champions of the Just; if they side with the mages, he appears in In Your Heart Shall Burn after In Hushed Whispers. He can later join the Inquisition as a companion either way.
A spirit between two worlds
Cole is a spirit of compassion inhabiting human form. In his human life, he was a mage who killed his abusive father, then was imprisoned, tortured and starved to death at The Spire. A spirit of compassion reached him during his captivity and took on his body and memories.
Cole can ease pain and make people forget him. His speech is poetic and fragmented, and he may reveal secrets or uncomfortable truths to other companions. If the Inquisitor’s approval falls too far, Cole can make the Inquisitor forget him.
Players shape Cole’s path
Cole’s story asks players to choose whether he should embrace his human or spirit side. Varric supports the human path, while Solas favors the spirit path; the decision belongs to the player.
Cole remains with the Inquisition until Corypheus is defeated. If he becomes more human, he leaves with the minstrel Maryden; if he becomes more spirit, he departs alone to help bring peace to others’ minds.
Key points
- Norton voices Cole in Dragon Age: Inquisition, following his rise to wider recognition in 2026.
- Cole is a spirit of compassion who can sense and ease other people’s pain.
- Players can recruit Cole whether they side with the mages or the Templars.
- The player decides whether Cole embraces his human or spirit side.