Skip to content 
2026 has already given us many starting stars, from the Oscar connection India Navarrete to that triple threat Jaafar Jackson. But, James Norton has to be one of the most popular and popularwho stole the show House of the Dragon Season 3 as the utterly despicable and hateful Ormund Hightower. Norton is not just a beginner, having appeared in big projects like A happy valley and Greta Gerwigand Little Women. However, this year he truly rose to a new level, finally receiving the international and widespread recognition he has long deserved.
One of Norton’s greatest strengths as an actor is his incredible versatility. He can go from playing a charming gentleman to a ruthless criminal in the blink of an eye, and that range extends to the realm of voice acting. In fact, Norton’s voice has brought two books to life and, most notably, given life to one of the best video game characters of the 2000s: Cole, the special and strange spirit from the 2014 Game of the Year winner, Dragon Age: Inquisition. Written alone, Cole is already strong and unique, but Norton’s voice elevates the character to new heights, turning him into one of the best and most difficult numbers in today’s games.
What is ‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’ about?
Dragon Age: Inquisition located in the province of Thedaswhich is constantly overcome by deadly events called Blights, where Darkspawn from the Deep Roads encounter a towering dragon and corrupt it, creating an Archdemon and launching a demonic onslaught that lasts decades. Before the game, a civil war broke out between mages and templars, causing divine Justinia to call a conclave. However, an unknown enemy attacks the cocoon, leaving it alone one survivor with a right-handed sign. Besides, there’s a big tear in the sky now, break between Thedas and the Fadea metaphysical realm containing spirits, demons, and dreams.
The player controls the sole survivor, nicknamed the Herald of Andraste and later assumes the role of Inquisitor. With their companions, the Inquisitor travels Thedasrecruiting allies and expanding the influence of the Inquisition. Among the main goals are closing the smaller gaps between Thedas and The Fade, fighting against demons, and facing mages and false temples. The Inquisitor must also discover the truth behind the attack on the Conclave, ultimately discovering the former Tevinter Magister Corypheus as the one responsible.
Who is Cole in ‘Dragon Age: Inquisition’?
In Dragon Age: InquisitionCole is one of the Inquisitor’s companions. She can be hired if the player chooses to side with the Templars, thus starting the Champions of the Just journey, where Cole works as a guide. If the player instead sides with the mages and thus starts the quest In Hushed Whispers, Cole will arrive through the main quest In Your Heart Shall Burn. Regardless of the player’s choice, Cole still arrives and can be recruited later as a proper companion.
The most complex and original of all Inquisition companions, Cole is a sympathetic spirit in human formtrapped between two worlds and trying to find purpose by helping others. In his human life, Cole was a wizard who killed his abusive father and was taken to the Spire, where he was tortured and eventually starved to death. When he was in captivity, a sympathetic spirit came out, eventually accepting his body and his memories. Cole has a unique ability to sense and alleviate the pain of others. He can also make others forget, which he does to the Inquisitor if his license falls past the tipping point.
Cole’s story in the game involves embracing his human or spiritual aspects; Varric encourages the former, and Solas the latter. In the end, it depends on the player whether Cole becomes more human or more spirit. In any case, he will remain in the Inquisition until Corypheus lost, leaving later with his love, the supervisor Maryden, if he is more human, or alone on a journey to bring peace to the minds of others, if there is more spirit.
Why is Cole such a great character?
Cole is an incredibly complex and strong character. Because of his unique nature as a spirit inhabiting the physical world, he is completely unprepared to deal with human emotions. He senses suffering but has difficulty understanding most other emotions. He also speaks in a peculiar cadence, using poetic, stream-of-consciousness, staccato expressions that often puzzle or disturb others. In fact, it can be quite frustrating, revealing deep secrets or discovering uncomfortable truths, forcing the other companions to deal with their own demons.
This is where Norton’s voice acting is so crucial. The actor uses a boyish, innocent tone, making Cole look like a young man starting to discover the world around him. Norton really sells Cole’s infamyespecially when it comes to his deep values. The actor uses a soft but purposeful tone, making Cole a strange face: he is incredibly wise and insightful but completely unconscious and uninformedlike a child delivering the harshest, harshest, most revealing truths you could ever imagine.
Norton is key in selling Cole’s complexity. The writing itself is great, as you’d expect from a Game of the Year winner made at the height of BioWare’s glory days, but Norton’s delivery elevates it by injecting so much passion and emotion into existing lines of poetry. His tone is grounded, stoic but full of emotion, quick and desperate to understand, to express everything he feels but cannot properly explain. Norton is often out of breath while delivering Cole’s stream-of-consciousness lines, each word making less sense than the last. Every line of this character is delightful a puzzle full of heavy symbolism, very exciting and completely confusing if you are not willing to go into the surreal and interpret his words through the lens of a full speech. Unfortunately, Cole spoils a number of films in his trademark approach: for example, “He wasn’t from a flower. He rode it in the snow,” is a clear reference to Citizen Kane.
It’s a very difficult balance to pull off, but Norton does it with flying colors. He’s so impressive that it’s actually surprising he hasn’t done more voice roles. His voice is so natural and alive that it seems a natural fit for this underappreciated and often misunderstood art. Still, at least we have Cole, a true gift of character that’s among the biggest of the 2010s, largely because of Norton.
