James Norton reveals how medical emergency nearly derailed A-list awards dinner during Nicole Kidman speech

House of the Dragon star James Norton has opened up about a chaotic health emergency that unfolded at a high-profile awards ceremony, revealing how a sudden drop in his blood sugar led to a mid-event scene during a speech by Nicole Kidman.

Appearing on the Table Manners podcast with Jessie and Lennie Ware, the 41-year-old actor recalled the moment his Type 1 diabetes caused "pandemonium" behind the scenes at the GQ Man of the Year Awards.

Norton, who was diagnosed with the "hidden" condition at age 22, explained that managing insulin while attending strict black-tie dinners can quickly turn tricky.

"I put my insulin in thinking we were going to have some bread with the starter," Norton explained.

"The starter arrived, and it was this little bit of trout, smoked trout, with no carbs. I was on the high table and they were honoring Jude Law and Nicole Kidman and all these people. There were speeches after the starter."

Norton has suffered from Type One diabetes since the age of 22 (Lia Toby/Getty Images)

Because he had already administered his insulin, the lack of carbohydrates meant his blood sugar began rapidly plummeting toward a severe severe low, known as hypoglycemia or a "hypo."

With speeches already underway, the actor found himself trapped between causing a scene or risking passing out.

"I couldn’t interrupt the speeches because I was sitting at the high table," he continued. "I eventually started sweating. You get really wobbly. You eventually will faint."

The awkward situation unfolded just as Nicole Kidman was giving a speech ( Karwai Tang/WireImage)

Recognizing he had roughly 10 minutes before losing consciousness, Norton quietly slipped away from his seat and informed a staff member backstage that he was diabetic and needed sugar immediately.

After being given a chocolate bar and juice, he returned to his seat—unaware of the chaos his medical plea had sparked behind the curtain.

"What I didn’t realize was that pandemonium had broken out backstage," he laughed. "They were like, 'James Norton’s about to have a hypo.' In the middle of Nicole Kidman’s speech, someone randomly brings me a steaming plate of potatoes."

Norton joked that to the rest of the star-studded room, it "basically looked like" he thought the prestigious event was "bulls---" and demanded a warm side of carbs mid-ceremony.

Despite the awkward moment, Norton has long been an outspoken advocate for diabetes awareness, recently raising nearly $200,000 for youth diabetes charity Breakthrough T1D ahead of running the London Marathon.

Looking toward the future, the star expressed hope that medical advances could soon revolutionize how the condition is treated. "There is incredible advances... and I think we’re getting closer," he shared. "My hope is within like 10-15 years we all won’t be administering insulin."