Edward Norton's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) National Geographic's Strange Days on Planet Earth Narrator

Main Movie Roles 2010 - Stone 2009 - The Invention of Lying 2008 - The Incredible Hulk 2008 - Pride and Glory 2006 - The Painted Veil 2006 - The Illusionist 2005 - Down in the Valley 2005 - Kingdom of Heaven 2004 - After the Sunset 2003 - The Italian Job 2002 - Red Dragon 2002 - Frida 2002 - Death to Smoochy 2002 - 25th Hour 2001 - The Score 2000 - Keeping the Faith 1999 - Fight Club 1998 - Rounders 1998 - American History X 1996 - Everyone Says I Love You 1996 - The People vs. Larry Flynt 1996 - Primal Fear

BIOGRAPHY:

Edward Norton was born on August 18, 1969 to parents Edward, an attorney who works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Robin Norton, a former foundation executive and teacher who passed away of brain cancer on March 6, 1997. Edward also has two younger siblings named James and Molly. From the age of 5 onward, the Yale graduate (majoring in history) has always been interested in acting. At the age of 8, he would ask his drama teacher what his motivation in a scene was. He attended theater schools throughout his life, and eventually managed to find work on stage in New York as a member of the Signature players, who produced the works of playwright and director Edward Albee. Around the time when he was appearing in Albee's Fragments, in Hollywood, they were looking for a young actor to star opposite Richard Gere in a new courtroom thriller, Primal Fear (1996). The role was offered to Leonardo DiCaprio but he turned it down. Gere was on the verge of walking away from the project, fed up with the wait for a young star to be found, when Edward auditioned and won the role over 2000 other hopefuls. Before the film was even released, his test screenings for the part were causing a Hollywood sensation, and he was soon offered roles in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and The People vs. Larry Flynt (1996). Edward won the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Primal Fear (1996). In 1998, Norton gained 30 pounds of muscle and transformed his look into that of a monstrous skinhead for his role as a violent white supremacist in American History X (1998). This performance would earn him his second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Actor. In 1999 came the critically acclaimed Fight Club (1999) and in 2000 came his directorial debut in Keeping the Faith (2000).


TRIVIA:

• Studied with renowned Hollywood Gun Coach 'Thell Reed' (qv), who taught other actors as: 'Brad Pitt' (qv), 'Val Kilmer' (qv), 'Leonardo DiCaprio' (qv), 'Russell Crowe' (qv), 'Ben Foster (I)' (qv) and 'Girard Swan' (qv).
• 'Stuart Blumberg' (qv), Edward's friend from his Yale college days, wrote most of what was to become the basis for _Keeping the Faith (2000)_ (qv). Edward starred, produced, and directed the romantic comedy, but he also assisted Stuart in writing the original story.
• Has a tabby cat named Maggie, named after the character from Cat in a Hot Tin Roof.
• Turned down the role of Bruce Banner in _Hulk (2003)_ (qv), but took the part in _The Incredible Hulk (2008)_ (qv).
• Speaks some French and said he really liked the work of Francois Truffaut, a French director.
• He was was going to play Terry Fitzgerald in _Spawn (1997)_ (qv) but pulled out of the project.
• According to Yale's newspaper, he has wanted to play the poet 'Dylan Thomas (I)' (qv) for a long time, but feels he's not physically right for the part.
• When Norton met with the director for _Primal Fear (1996)_ (qv), he told them that he, like Aaron, came from eastern Kentucky. Norton even spoke with the twang (which he prepared by watching _Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)_ (qv)).