Famed actor and martial artist Richard Norton died last year after taking unapproved peptides, according to a newly released coroner’s report.
Norton, who was known for his villainous roles in Hong Kong action films including 1997’s “Mr Nice Guy,” and more recently the latest “Mad Max” films, died on March 30, 2025, at the age of 75. At the time, his cause of death wasn’t known to the public.
Now the coroner’s writeup, as reported by NBC News, reveals that he died at his home of sudden cardiac arrest “following self-administration of recently commenced peptide therapy” that he was undergoing with the supervision of his doctor.
Norton, however, had been exceeding the dose that he was prescribed. Just two days before he died, he told his nurse that he’d been taking “double the prescribed dose” of two peptides called CJC1295 and Ipamorelin. The nurse then “advised Richard” that “he ought to only administer the prescribed dose.”
The reason Norton was taking peptides was probably to help keep up his athleticism in his old age. He told his doctor that he was interested in peptide therapy, saying he had already taken the drugs under another doctor’s guidance for “fatigue, reduced physical recovery, shoulder pain and loss of lean muscle mass.” The peptides he was taking are commonly blended together to stimulate growth hormone production and help with recovery.
Australia’s ABC News reported that his death is believed to be the first in the country that’s known to be caused by unapproved peptide use.
Norton’s downturn came suddenly. He took blood tests before being approved to start peptide therapy less than two weeks before he died. For the next week, he reported feeling fine and that the treatment was working. Just a few days after checking in with the nurse, though, Norton complained that he felt “hot and flushed and then collapsed and became unresponsive.” Paramedics arrived, performed CPR after observing he was experiencing cardiac arrest, and took him to the hospital. He died two days later.
Peptides are short chains of amino acids that are typically injected to bring about purported medical benefits. Some have made it through clinical trials and can be prescribed legally, like Ozempic and Zepbound. But synthetically produced peptides that haven’t been well studied have simultaneously achieved explosive popularity in biohacking spheres and among wealthy figures and celebrities — and while many swear by their benefits, the long term health consequences remain hazy, as does their legality. Many are produced in China and sold by dubious vendors.
The coroner didn’t mince words on unapproved peptides, noting that they’re not approved by Australia’s health regulators or “any global regulatory authority for human use,” with their use “mostly considered experimental in humans,” and their “toxicology is largely unknown.”
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