Which actor played Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror film Psycho?

Anthony Perkins played Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror film Psycho.

Norman Bates is the apparently polite proprietor of the isolated Bates Motel. His relationship with his domineering mother and the murders surrounding the motel form the film’s central mystery. Perkins’s performance combines nervous charm, awkwardness, and menace, making Norman one of cinema’s most influential horror characters.

Psycho was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and adapted from Robert Bloch’s 1959 novel. The film also features Janet Leigh as Marion Crane and Vera Miles as Lila Crane. Perkins later reprised Norman in three theatrical sequels and a television film, but his original performance remains the best-known version.

A common mix-up is identifying Bloch as Norman’s creator on screen: Bloch wrote the novel, while Perkins portrayed the character in Hitchcock’s film. Norman Bates is also distinct from his mother, whose identity and influence are revealed through the story’s psychological twist.