James Norrington, CB is a fictional character

Fictional character

A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...

 in Disney

The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is the largest media conglomerate in the world in terms of revenue. Founded on October 16, 1923, by Walt and Roy Disney as the Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio, Walt Disney Productions established itself as a leader in the American animation industry before diversifying into...

's Pirates of the Caribbean

Pirates of the Caribbean (film series)

Pirates of the Caribbean is a series of fantasy-adventure films directed by Gore Verbinski and Rob Marshall , written by Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio and produced by Jerry Bruckheimer...

film series. He is played by English actor Jack Davenport

Jack Davenport

Jack Davenport is an English actor, best known for his roles in the television series This Life, Coupling and as James Norrington in the Pirates of the Caribbean series. He has also appeared in many other Hollywood films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley...

.
According to the writers' audio commentary from the Curse of the Black Pearl DVD, Norrington was originally written as an evil character intended to join forces with Hector Barbossa

Hector Barbossa

Hector Barbossa is a fictional character and pirate in the Disney film series Pirates of the Caribbean. Barbossa was first introduced in the series as the main antagonist of the first film, and pirate captain of the Black Pearl after committing mutiny against the ship's former captain, Jack...

, but the idea was later used in Dead Man's Chest, where he betrays his comrades and sides with Cutler Beckett

Cutler Beckett

Lord Cutler Beckett is a fictional character portrayed by Tom Hollander in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series. He appears as a main antagonist in Dead Man's Chest and in At World's End...

 (although he later regrets this action).

In an interview, producer Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerry Bruckheimer

Jerome Leon "Jerry" Bruckheimer is an American film and television producer. He has achieved great success in the genres of action, drama, and science fiction. His best known television series are CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, Eleventh Hour, Without a Trace, Cold Case, The...

 stated that Norrington was originally slated to only appear in the first film, but partially due to the positive audience reaction towards the character, and his respect for Davenport, he made him a prominent character in the sequel.