Edward Norton (Photo by The LIFE Picture Collection)
Gallery of Edward Norton
1997
7920 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046, United States
Edward Norton during "187" Hollywood Premiere at DGA Theater in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella)
Gallery of Edward Norton
1997
Los Angeles, California, United States
Edward Norton during "Telling Lies In America" Premiere in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Barry King)
Gallery of Edward Norton
1998
10250 Santa Monica Blvd #2000, Los Angeles, CA 90067, United States
Edward Norton during "Rounders" Los Angeles Premiere at Loews Cineplex in Los Angeles, California, United States. (Photo by Ron Galella)
Gallery of Edward Norton
1999
Cameron Diaz with Edward Norton, January 1999. (Photo by The LIFE Picture Collection)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2002
614 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036, United States
Edward Norton & Salma Hayek during "Y Tu Mama Tambien" Premiere at Regent Showcase Theatre in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2002
Aspen, Colorado, United States
Ed Norton and Salma Hayek during US Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen, Colorado, United States. (Photo by Jeff Kravitz)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2002
New York City, New York, USA
Edward Norton on the set of "Twenty-Fifth Hour" in New York City. (Photo by Tom Kingston)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2002
New York City, New York, USA
Edward Norton on the set of 'Twenty-Fifth Hour' in New York City'. (Photo by Tom Kingston)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2003
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Salma Hayek & Edward Norton during The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by Jeffrey Mayer)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2003
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Salma Hayek and Edward Norton during The 8th Annual Critics' Choice Awards - Beverly Hills at Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2004
Park City, Utah, United States
Edward Norton during 2004 Sundance Film Festival - "Dirty Work" Outdoor Portraits in Park City, Utah, United States. (Photo by Randall Michelson)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2009
855 Burrard St, Vancouver, BC V6Z 2K6, Canada
Edward Norton from the film 'Leaves Of Grass' poses for a portrait during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival at The Sutton Place Hotel on September 14, 2009, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Matt Carr)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2009
Toronto, Ontario.
Edward Norton is photographed on September 10, 2009, in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by CS Media)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2010
The High Line, New York, NY 10011, United States
Edward Norton speaks at the 11th Annual Friends of the High Line Party and Summer Dinner at the High Line on June 21, 2010, in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2010
370 King St W, Toronto, ON M5V 1J9, Canada
Edward Norton from "Stone" poses for a portrait during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival in Guess Portrait Studio at Hyatt Regency Hotel on September 10, 2010, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Matt Carr0
Gallery of Edward Norton
2011
Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy
Edward Norton poses for a portrait session during the 2011 Giffoni Experience on July 13, 2011, in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy. (Photo by Stefania D'Alessandro)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2012
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
(L-R) Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton attend opening ceremony and "Moonrise Kingdom" premiere during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2012, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2012
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Edward Norton attends opening ceremony and "Moonrise Kingdom" premiere during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2012, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2014
130 Bowery, New York, NY 10013, United States
Edward Norton attends Celebrity Charades 2014: Judgment Day at Capitale on October 27, 2014, in New York City. (Photo by Monica Schipper)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2014
Los Angeles, California, USA
Edward Norton attends day one of Variety Studio: Actors On Actors presented by Samsung Galaxy on November 8, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2015
300 Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States
Brad Pitt (L) and Edward Norton attend the 15th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2015
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Edward Norton arrives at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2015
9390 N Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Edward Norton attends the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 22, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2015
300 Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States
Brad Pitt (L) and Edward Norton attend the 15th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2016
158 Main St, East Hampton, NY 11937, United States
Edward Norton attends the "Bunker 77" screening during The Hamptons International Film Festival 2016 at Guild Hall on October 7, 2016, in East Hampton, New York. (Photo by Matthew Eisman)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2016
1 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton, NY 11932, United States
Alec Baldwin and Edward Norton attend the Awards Dinner at the Hamptons International Film Festival 2016 at Topping Rose on October 9, 2016, in Bridgehampton, New York. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2016
Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, United States
Edward Norton attends the "Collateral Beauty" world premiere at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 12, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2016
New York City, New York, USA
Ed Norton is seen filming "Collateral Beauty" on location on April 2, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Michael Stewart)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2017
335 Bowery, New York, NY 10003, United States
Shauna Robertson and Edward Norton attend the Turtle Conservancy's Fourth Annual Turtle Ballat The Bowery Hotel on April 17, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2017
1000 5th Ave, New York, NY 10028, United States
Shauna Robertson and Edward Norton attend the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2018
Washington Square Park, New York, NY 10012, United States
Edward Norton on set for "Motherless Brooklyn" in Washington Square Park on February 28, 2018, in New York City. (Photo by Bobby Bank)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2018
Los Angeles, California, USA
Edward Norton attends the Comedy Central Roast Of Bruce Willis on July 14, 2018, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2018
Beverly Hills, California, USA
Shauna Robertson (L) and Edward Norton attend the Casamigos Halloween Party on October 26, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2019
Rome, Italy
Edward Norton attends the "Motherless Brooklyn" red carpet during the 14th Rome Film Festival on October 17, 2019, in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Franco Origlia)
Gallery of Edward Norton
2019
Rome, Italy
Edward Norton attends the red carpet during the 14th Rome Film Festival on October 18, 2019, in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Franco Origlia)
Achievements
Membership
Friends of The High Line
Awards
Golden Globe Award
1997
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Edward Norton attends the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 17, 1997, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd.)
Screen Actors Guild Award
2015
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Edward Norton, winner of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for 'Birdman,' poses in the press room at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller)
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Edward Norton attends the 54th Annual Golden Globe Awards on January 17, 1997, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Ron Galella, Ltd.)
614 N La Brea Ave, Los Angeles, CA 90036, United States
Edward Norton & Salma Hayek during "Y Tu Mama Tambien" Premiere at Regent Showcase Theatre in Hollywood, California, United States. (Photo by Jean-Paul Aussenard)
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Salma Hayek & Edward Norton during The 60th Annual Golden Globe Awards - Arrivals at The Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by Jeffrey Mayer)
9876 Wilshire Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Salma Hayek and Edward Norton during The 8th Annual Critics' Choice Awards - Beverly Hills at Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, United States. (Photo by Gregg DeGuire)
Edward Norton from the film 'Leaves Of Grass' poses for a portrait during the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival at The Sutton Place Hotel on September 14, 2009, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Matt Carr)
Edward Norton speaks at the 11th Annual Friends of the High Line Party and Summer Dinner at the High Line on June 21, 2010, in New York City. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker)
Edward Norton from "Stone" poses for a portrait during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival in Guess Portrait Studio at Hyatt Regency Hotel on September 10, 2010, in Toronto, Canada. (Photo by Matt Carr0
Edward Norton poses for a portrait session during the 2011 Giffoni Experience on July 13, 2011, in Giffoni Valle Piana, Italy. (Photo by Stefania D'Alessandro)
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
(L-R) Tilda Swinton, Bruce Willis and Edward Norton attend opening ceremony and "Moonrise Kingdom" premiere during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2012, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole)
Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France
Edward Norton attends opening ceremony and "Moonrise Kingdom" premiere during the 65th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2012, in Cannes, France. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole)
Edward Norton attends day one of Variety Studio: Actors On Actors presented by Samsung Galaxy on November 8, 2014, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Imeh Akpanudosen)
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Edward Norton, winner of Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for 'Birdman,' poses in the press room at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Ethan Miller)
300 Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States
Brad Pitt (L) and Edward Norton attend the 15th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Kevin Winter)
665 W Jefferson Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007, United States
Edward Norton arrives at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at The Shrine Auditorium on January 25, 2015, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Axelle)
9390 N Santa Monica Blvd, Beverly Hills, CA 90210, United States
Edward Norton attends the 2015 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Graydon Carter at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 22, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Pascal Le Segretain)
300 Doheny Dr, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States
Brad Pitt (L) and Edward Norton attend the 15th Annual AFI Awards at Four Seasons Hotel Los Angeles at Beverly Hills on January 9, 2015, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison)
158 Main St, East Hampton, NY 11937, United States
Edward Norton attends the "Bunker 77" screening during The Hamptons International Film Festival 2016 at Guild Hall on October 7, 2016, in East Hampton, New York. (Photo by Matthew Eisman)
1 Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, Bridgehampton, NY 11932, United States
Alec Baldwin and Edward Norton attend the Awards Dinner at the Hamptons International Film Festival 2016 at Topping Rose on October 9, 2016, in Bridgehampton, New York. (Photo by Eugene Gologursky)
Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, United States
Edward Norton attends the "Collateral Beauty" world premiere at Frederick P. Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center on December 12, 2016, in New York City. (Photo by Jim Spellman)
Shauna Robertson and Edward Norton attend the Turtle Conservancy's Fourth Annual Turtle Ballat The Bowery Hotel on April 17, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy)
Shauna Robertson and Edward Norton attend the "Rei Kawakubo/Comme des Garcons: Art Of The In-Between" Costume Institute Gala at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 1, 2017, in New York City. (Photo by Theo Wargo)
Shauna Robertson (L) and Edward Norton attend the Casamigos Halloween Party on October 26, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Michael Kovac)
Edward Norton attends the "Motherless Brooklyn" red carpet during the 14th Rome Film Festival on October 17, 2019, in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Franco Origlia)
Belvedere Rd, Lambeth, London SE1 8XT, United Kingdom
James McAvoy attends the BFI London Film Festival Awards during the 58th BFI London Film Festival on October 18, 2014 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images for BFI)
(Richard Gere stars as Martin Vail, a famed defense lawyer...)
Richard Gere stars as Martin Vail, a famed defense lawyer who volunteers his services to Aaron Stampler (Edward Norton), a Kentucky teenager charged with the murder of a Chicago archbishop.
(Academy Award winner Matt Damon (True Grit, The Bourne Su...)
Academy Award winner Matt Damon (True Grit, The Bourne Supremacy) and Edward Norton (Fight Club, The Italian Job) star in this story of passion, risk and the extreme price of friendship!
(Academy Award-nominee Edward Norton delivers a searing pe...)
Academy Award-nominee Edward Norton delivers a searing performance as a former neo-Nazi skinhead who now struggles to prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps.
(When safecracker Nick decides it's time to settle down wi...)
When safecracker Nick decides it's time to settle down with his girlfriend Diane and stick to his legitimate business, running a jazz nightclub, his friend and partner Max has other plans.
(Nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Salma Hayek for ...)
Nominated for 6 Academy Awards including Salma Hayek for Best Actress, Frida is a triumphant motion picture about an exceptional woman who lived an unforgettable life. A product of humble beginnings, Frida Kahlo(Hayek) earns fame as a talented artist with a unique vision. And from her enduring relationship with her mentor and husband, Diego Rivera (Alfred Molina).
(A gruesome serial killer is on the loose, and the FBI con...)
A gruesome serial killer is on the loose, and the FBI convinces a former agent to consult with the man who nearly killed him - Hannibal Lecter - to help their search. With Ralph Fiennes.
(The plan was flawless. The execution was perfect. Charlie...)
The plan was flawless. The execution was perfect. Charlie Croker pulled off the crime of a lifetime. The one thing that he didn’t plan on was being double-crossed.
(The Crusades; that world-shaping 200-year collision betwe...)
The Crusades; that world-shaping 200-year collision between Europe and the East frames the tale of a young Frenchman who discovers his destiny as a knight, then lives out what that glorious title really means.
(On a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe (Evan R...)
On a trip to the beach, a teenage girl named Tobe (Evan Rachel Wood) meets a charismatic stranger named Harlan (Edward Norton), who dresses like a cowboy and claims to be a former ranch hand. The pair feel an instant attraction and begin a relationship, but her father (David Morse), a lawman, is suspicious of her lover.
(Set in early 20th-century Vienna, a stage magician uses h...)
Set in early 20th-century Vienna, a stage magician uses his magic to win back the great love of his life from a brutal enemy, her fiancee who is also the powerful crowned prince of Austria.
(A love story set in the 1920s of a young English couple, ...)
A love story set in the 1920s of a young English couple, Walter and Kitty, who get married for the wrong reasons and relocate to Shanghai, where she falls in love with someone else.
(Edward Norton leads an all-star cast in this explosive, s...)
Edward Norton leads an all-star cast in this explosive, special effects-packed epic that delivers a mind-blowing final showdown that can only be summed up with one word...Incredible!
(Edward Norton and Colin Farrell star in this crime thrill...)
Edward Norton and Colin Farrell star in this crime thriller that blurs the line between morality and duty as it asks the question: What does it mean to be loyal?
(This groundbreaking action-packed documentary takes you b...)
This groundbreaking action-packed documentary takes you back to the winter of 1975 in Hawaii - a dramatic moment in history when a group of young South African and Australian surfers sacrificed everything. They put it all on the line to create a sport, a culture, and an industry that is today worth billions of dollars and has captured the imagination of the world.
("Leaves of Grass" is a comic thriller seen through the du...)
"Leaves of Grass" is a comic thriller seen through the dual perspectives of identical twins Bill and Brady Kincaid (two-time Academy Award-nominee Edward Norton, "American History X"), which weaves together such disparate narrative elements as Ivy League politics, backwoods drug deals, classical philosophy and the Jewish community of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
(Academy-Award-winner Robert De Niro and Academy-Award-nom...)
Academy-Award-winner Robert De Niro and Academy-Award-nominee Edward Norton deliver powerful performances as a seasoned corrections official and a scheming inmate whose lives become dangerously intertwined in this thought-provoking drama.
(Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Frances McDo...)
Bruce Willis, Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand star in filmmaker Wes Anderson's story of two 12-year-olds who run away together, turning their peaceful community upside-down.
(The creators and star of Borat bring you the hilarious co...)
The creators and star of Borat bring you the hilarious comedy about what happens when the world's worst dictator is stuck in New York and forced to live his worst nightmare...the American dream.
(Agent Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) must use his geneticall...)
Agent Aaron Cross (Jeremy Renner) must use his genetically-enhanced skills to finish what Jason Bourne started in this action-packed hit that takes the Bourne series to explosive new levels.
(The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of legen...)
The Grand Budapest Hotel recounts the adventures of legendary concierge Gustave H. and Zero Moustafa, the lobby boy who becomes his most trusted friend.
(Michael Keaton heads an all-star cast in this riveting st...)
Michael Keaton heads an all-star cast in this riveting story of a former superhero film star grappling with dwindling fame, an estranged daughter, theatre critics, and inner demons.
(A man reaches out to the universe after a tragedy. Receiv...)
A man reaches out to the universe after a tragedy. Receiving unexpected answers, he begins to see how these things interlock and how even loss can reveal moments of meaning and beauty.
(From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (Avatar) and Robe...)
From visionary filmmakers James Cameron (Avatar) and Robert Rodriguez (Sin City), comes Alita: Battle Angel, an epic adventure of hope and empowerment.
Edward Norton is an American activist, actor, director, and screenwriter. Norton earned an Oscar nomination for that role and for 1998's American History X. He went on to produce and star in movies like The Incredible Hulk, Pride, and Glory, Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman, for which he earned a third Oscar nomination. He also starred in the film Fight Club (1999), which has garnered a cult following.
Background
Ethnicity:
Edward Norton is of English, as well as smaller amounts of German, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, and Swiss-German ancestry.
Edward Norton was born on August 18, 1969, in Boston, Massachusetts, the United States. His mother, Lydia Robinson "Robin" (Rouse), was a foundation executive and teacher of English, and a daughter of famed real estate developer James Rouse, who developed Columbia; she passed away of brain cancer on March 6, 1997. His father, Edward Mower Norton, Jr., was an environmental lawyer and conservationist, who works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Edward is the eldest of three children and has two younger siblings, James and Molly.
He grew up in the progressive, multicultural community of Columbia, Maryland, which was founded by his grandfather. Norton was an extremely bright and serious young boy, deciding at the age of 5 to pursue acting, after watching a babysitter perform in the play If I Were a Princess. Shortly after, he commanded the stage in Annie Get Your Gun at Orenstein's Columbia School for Theatrical Arts and is rumored to have asked questions like, "What is my objective in this scene?" at the tender age of 8.
Education
Norton graduated from Wilde Lake High School in 1987. Norton continued acting (and playing basketball) throughout high school and, after graduating, went on to Yale to pursue studies in astronomy, history, and Japanese. He acted in several undergraduate productions, often to campus-wide acclaim.
Upon graduating in 1991 with a history degree, Norton moved to Japan where he worked for his grandfather's company, Enterprise Foundation, a business devoted to establishing international low-income housing. It was not until his return to New York in 1994 that Norton decided to put all other interests aside and devote his energy and intelligence to acting.
While supporting himself as a waiter, Norton appeared in several off-off-Broadway productions including Brian Friel's Lovers and John Patrick Shanley's Italian American Reconciliation. After impressing celebrated playwright Edward Albee in an audition, Norton was cast in his next production, Fragments, and subsequently earned a place in the New York Signature Theater Company.
In the meantime, the producers of a Hollywood courtroom thriller were struggling to find a co-star for actor Richard Gere, who was threatening to walk away from the film. After Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role, casting proceeded to audition 2,100 actors - none of whom were able to capture the subtleties of a seemingly innocent Southern boy on the brink of insanity.
Norton showed up to audition, sporting a flawless Southern drawl and telling casting directors that he hailed from eastern Kentucky. During the audition, he crouched in a corner and decided to give the young man a stutter, blowing away casting directors in the screen test with the convincing intensity of his performance. Norton was immediately cast and was later credited for rescuing Primal Fear (1996) from the annals of Hollywood obscurity. He garnered a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role.
Regarding his success in the film, Norton commented that "the potency of the revelation about who my character really was in that film was, in part, reliant on the fact that people had absolutely no prior knowledge of me. They had no reason to expect a different voice or anything different from what they were initially presented with." Because of the vitality and importance of this "revelation," Norton has chosen to remain as reticent as possible about his personal life, so as not to pollute the freshness of his portrayals.
On the power of Hollywood word-of-mouth alone, Norton had several serious film roles lined up before Primal Fear hit theaters. He charmed audiences (and added singing and dancing to his list of talents) as Holden, a preppy youth vying for the affections of Drew Barrymore's Skylar, in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996). He then played a painfully loyal attorney defending America's most notoriously crude pornographer in Milos Forman's controversial film, The People Vs. Larry Flynt (1996).
Norton's supporting turn in Rounders (1998), playing alongside fellow rising star Matt Damon, inspired yet more praise, but it was his emotionally fierce performance as a reformed neo-Nazi in American History X (1998) that earned him the second Oscar nomination - this time as Best Actor - of his relatively brief film career. Norton had again proven his ability to almost effortlessly switch psychological gears within a character. He portrayed Derek Vinyard, a reformed white supremacist in contemporary California who returns from prison to help shepherd his brother away from racial animosity and violence. Janet Maslin wrote of his performance in The New York Times that "having made his electrifying screen debut with an essentially dual role in Primal Fear, Norton now plays a two-faceted character with even more fury."
In 1999, Norton teamed up with Brad Pitt in another intense and tumultuous role as a nameless young man in David Fincher's Fight Club, based on the debut novel by Chuck Palahniuk. The Fight Club is a film portraying the lives of emotionally empty men who turn to underground combat as an outlet from their homogeneous lives in a materialistic and corporate-dominated society. Norton plays a lonely young professional who feigns illness in order to attend disease support groups and bond with others until he meets Tyler Durden (Pitt), the founder of Fight Club - an underground group that discovers a cathartic release of aggression through brutal fist-fights. The film became a cult hit and officially catapulted Norton to the realm of A-list actors.
Keeping the Faith (2000), a romantic comedy featuring Norton, Ben Stiller, and Jenna Elfman in an unusual love triangle, marked Norton's producing and directing debut. In 2001, he co-starred alongside heavy-hitters Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando in the crime film The Score.
The following year proved to one filled with highs and lows for the talented actor. He starred in the satirical look at children's television, Death to Smoochy, which proved to be a critical and commercial dud.
In Red Dragon, Norton played a retired FBI agent drawn back into his old investigative life in order to track down a serial killer with a little help from notorious murderer, Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins). The film, a prequel to the hit Silence of the Lambs, was a remake of the 1986 film Manhunter.
Norton then starred in director Spike Lee's The 25th Hour as a drug dealer about to start a long prison sentence. The project was a dream come true for Norton, who had been a fan of Lee's work since Do the Right Thing.
After such a hectic roll-out of films, Norton took a break for several years, accepting only two supporting roles - one in 2003's The Italian Job, and the other in 2005's Kingdom of Heaven. "I didn't want to go into something feeling less than totally enthused about it just for the sake of getting paid," he told Entertainment Weekly.
Norton expanded his role behind the scenes. In 2003, he founded Class 5 Films with Stuart Blumberg, a friend of his since his Yale days. The company produced Down in the Valley (2006), an independent drama starring Norton as a cowboy who moves to California and gets involved with a younger woman (Evan Rachel Wood).
That same year, the company also produced The Painted Veil, a historical drama of betrayal set in China during a cholera epidemic. Norton played a bacteriologist who learns his wife (played by Naomi Watts) is involved with another man (played by Liev Schreiber).
Speaking on Norton's reputation as a difficult actor to work with, his co-star Naomi Watts said, "I think that there's no question that Edward is going to challenge every director that he works with. But if the director is smart, he will always listen to Edward's ideas, because 99 percent of the time they're brilliant."
Also in 2006, Norton starred in the historical mystery drama The Illusionist. He played a magician who uses his talents to help the woman he loves (played by Jessica Biel) in turn-of-the-century Vienna. Norton went through a very different type of transformation for his next role, starring as the title character in 2008's The Incredible Hulk. The Incredible Hulk was a 2008 superhero film which brought Norton to international fame. Directed by Louis Leterrier, the film was based on The Hulk, a popular Marvel comics superhero. The story revolved around a scientist named Bruce Banner who gets involved in an experiment that transforms him into a superhuman, The Hulk’. The film was a commercial success and was met with mostly positive reviews.
Norton next starred opposite Colin Farrell in the 2008 crime drama Pride and Glory. Working behind the scenes, he served as a producer on HBO's political documentary By the People: The Election of Barack Obama (2009). The project was directed by Amy Rice and Alicia Sams, who had followed Obama for two and a half years to make the film.
In the 2009 crime film Leaves of Grass, Norton plays a pair of twins opposite Tim Blake Nelson, Susan Sarandon, and Keri Russell. Other film projects have included Stone (2010) with Robert De Niro and Milla Jovovich, Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014). Norton received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for another 2014 film, Birdman, in which he plays a stage actor with an unpredictable, unsettling temperament.
Norton followed with voice work for the raunchy Sausage Party (2016) and Wes Anderson's stop-motion Isle of Dogs (2018), as well as a role in the Will Smith drama Collateral Beauty (2016), playing the coworker of a grieving father.
In 2019 he returned to the director’s chair for Motherless Brooklyn, an adaptation of Jonathan Lethem’s novel about a private detective with Tourette syndrome; Norton also starred in the crime drama and wrote the screenplay.
(Kids love him. TV execs adore him. Sheesh, it's enough to...)
2002
Religion
Norton was raised an Episcopalian and an Anglican but identifies his childhood more with Judaism. He now practices no religion.
When it comes to the religious upbringing of his childhood, Norton identifies more with Judaism than anything else. He said: "I grew up an honorary Jew. If you go to more than ten bar mitzvahs you get an honorary Jew certificate. I went to at least ten in one year. I was drunk on Manischewitz half of 1987!"
Politics
Norton’s political contributions point to someone who has gone to great lengths to formulate his views. First of all, he’s a Democrat who even made a documentary film about the election of Barack Obama. He was a big supporter of Democratic former New York governor Elliot Spitzer, donating thousands of dollars and rallying other stars to do so when it looked like his 2008 re-election campaign was losing steam.
Norton hated George W. Bush, and even told a crowd at Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland to please vote him out in 2004, basically calling the president stupid and ignorant and asking the crowd: "Do tax breaks for movie stars make any sense to you?" and also saying "I almost forgot what it’s like to be proud of my government."
Views
A staunch environmentalist, Norton is the president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust and, in 2010, Norton was designated as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity by the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
To raise money for the Maasai Wilderness Conversation Trust, Norton assembled a team of thirty runners to participate in the New York City Marathon. The team included Alanis Morissette and David Blaine, who presumably levitated his way to the finish line where he was already waiting for himself.
Quotations:
"When you're working on a creative thing, everyone has an idea, and they're pushing it. The first time you work with anybody, you have to get comfortable with the way another person pushes hard for what they want. Familiarity breeds contempt, people say. But I've found, for creative things, familiarity breeds peace of mind, because you realize you know someone better. You trust each other. You know not to take things a certain way, or a wrong way. You get to where you don't have to waste quite so much time with diplomacy. Things are a little more efficient."
"Just because you've made a couple movies, you've done some good movies, you've been nominated for some Academy Awards, whatever, nobody's entitled. It's a business. If they don't see it, I can think they're wrong, but I'm not entitled to a $15 million budget to make a film."
"I always felt that acting was an escape, like having the secret key to every door and permission to go into any realm and soak it up. I enjoy that free pass."
"I'm not interested in making movies for everybody. I like making movies for myself and my friends and people with my sensibility."
Membership
Edward Norton is an active member of Friends of The High Line, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line - a 1.5 mile elevated railway that runs along the West Side of Manhattan. Norton appears in a video made by Good Mag about the conversion of the old rail line into a multi-use trail.
Friends of The High Line
Personality
Norton has a strict work ethic and a high desire for professionalism. Because of his strong character, Norton has earned a reputation for being hard to work with. Unhappy with director Tony Kaye’s cut on American History X, Norton recut the film himself despite Kaye’s objections. Norton’s cut made it to film festivals and theatres which triggered Kaye to demand his name be removed from the credits and replaced with “Humpty Dumpty.” Kaye and Norton have not worked together since. The numerous scathing ads Kaye took out in trade papers gutting Norton, and the time he told a reporter that Norton was “a narcissistic dilettante who raped the film” might have been a contributing factor.
During filming on Red Dragon, Norton reportedly showed up on set with brand new (and totally unsolicited) script pages that he had taken it upon himself to write and then demanded they be filmed. This, understandably, caused quite a bit of friction with director Brett Ratner and his producers.
On 2002’s Death to Smoochy, the film’s costume designer, Jane Ruhm, gave Norton a wide variety of clothes for his character who was described in the script as a hippie. Without Ruhm’s, or anyone else’s, knowledge, Norton commissioned Armani to make him a suit out of hemp and then forced Ruhm to deal with the paperwork and negotiations associated with getting such a suit made.
Norton signed on to The Incredible Hulk but insisted that any changes he made to the script be incorporated. He handed in his own rewrite of the film a few weeks before shooting, too late to make any significant structural changes. Although the director tried to film as much of it as possible, many considered this to be the worst of the Hulk movies.
Despite critical plaudits, Norton is indifferent to overt stardom. He feels it necessary to keep his off-screen life to himself and opts for a "normal life."
In 1998, Norton played guitar with Courtney Love’s band Hole for two of their Los Angeles gigs. Love referred to him as “Eduardo” on stage and told the audience she picked him up on Hollywood Boulevard.
Interests
playing the guitar
Politicians
Barack Obama, Elliot Spitzer
Writers
Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Joseph Conrad, Ernest Hemingway, J.D. Salinger, Tom Wolfe
Artists
François Truffaut
Sport & Clubs
running, baseball, Baltimore Orioles
Athletes
Cal Ripken Jr.
Music & Bands
Radiohead, Elliott Smith, Red Hot Chili Peppers, R.E.M., Tom Waits, Hole
Connections
Norton began dating his Larry Flynt co-star, rocker Courtney Love. After Love was publicly trashed in a New Yorker article, Norton exhibited his real-life loyalty by jumping to her defense. Norton insisted that he was not romantically involved with Love, and the two were only friends and colleagues. However, Love confirmed they were in a brief, discreet relationship. She said that Norton had been a "mediator" and "communicator" between her and her daughter Frances Bean Cobain, calling him a "force of good".
After Norton had ended his relationship with Love in 1999, he was linked to actress Salma Hayek, with whom he starred in a biopic of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Hayek still remains friends with Norton.
He married producer Shauna Robertson in 2012, and the pair welcomed their first child, son Atlas, in 2013.