Edward Norton's 1996 film debut in Primal Fear earned him an Oscar nomination for best supporting actor. A 1991 graduate of Yale University, Norton began his performing career on the New York stage. His remarkable movie debut was followed by another Oscar nomination for his starring role in American History X (1998) and raves for his performance in Fight Club (1999, co-starring Brad Pitt). Norton was hailed as one of the best new actors of the 1990s, but the much-publicized conflicts behind the scenes of American History X made him seem less like an exacting professional and more like a rebarbative fussbudget. A sometime writer and director, his first feature behind the camera was the comedy Keeping the Faith (2000, starring Ben Stiller), and in 2006 it was reported that he was writing and directing Motherless Brooklyn, based on the novel by Jonathan Lethem. His other roles include the films Rounders (1998, with Matt Damon), Red Dragon (2002, with Ralph Fiennes), The Italian Job (2003, with Charlize Theron), Kingdom of Heaven (2005, starring Orlando Bloom) and The Illusionist (2006, co-starring Jessica Biel).
Norton is the grandson of famed urban planner James Rouse... Norton was briefly romantically linked to Courtney Love, his co-star from the 1996 film The People vs. Larry Flynt... Norton's co-star in The Illusionist is Paul Giamatti, another Yale graduate who participated in the school's theater program with Norton.
Career Highlights: The People Vs. Larry Flynt, Fight Club, Keeping the Faith
First Major Screen Credit: Primal Fear (1996)
Biography
An actor of unusual talent, Edward Norton attained almost instant stardom with his film debut 1996's Primal Fear. For his thoroughly chilling breakthrough performance as a Kentucky altar boy accused of murder, Norton was credited with saving an otherwise mediocre film and further rewarded with Golden Globe and Oscar nominations. Remarkably disconnected from all of the hype that is usually associated with fresh talent, Norton has gone on to further prove his worth in such films as American History X, The People vs. Larry Flynt, and Fight Club.
The son of a former Carter Administration federal prosecutor and an English teacher, as well as the grandson of famed developer James Rouse, Norton was born in Boston on August 18, 1969. He was raised in the planned community of Columbia, MD, and from an early age was known as an extremely bright and somewhat serious person. His interest in acting began at the age of five when his babysitter, Betsy True (who went on to become an actress on stage and screen), took him to a musical adaptation of Cinderella. Shortly after that, Norton enrolled at Orenstein's Columbia School for Theatrical Arts, making his stage debut at the age of eight in a local production of Annie Get Your Gun. Although young, Norton already exhibited an unusual amount of professionalism and took his subsequent roles seriously. After high school, he studied astronomy, history, and Japanese at Yale, and was also active in the university's theatrical productions.
After earning a history degree, Norton spent a few months in Japan and then moved to New York, where he worked for the Enterprise Foundation, a group devoted to stopping urban decay. Again, Norton continued acting at every opportunity and eventually decided to become a full-time actor. In 1994, he appeared in Edward Albee's Fragments after deeply impressing the distinguished playwright during an audition. Norton then joined the New York Signature Theater Company, which frequently premieres Albee's plays. With a number of off-Broadway credits to his name, Norton won his role in Primal Fear after being chosen out of 2,100 hopefuls. He nabbed the part after telling casting directors in a flawless drawl that he was a native of eastern Kentucky, the same area where the character came from; legend has it that the actor watched Coal Miner's Daughter to learn the accent. The intensity of Norton's screen test readings stunned almost all who saw them, and the actor became something of a hot property even before the film was released. The same year, Norton was cast as Drew Barrymore's affable fiancé in Woody Allen's tribute to Hollywood musicals, Everyone Says I Love You. Like all of the other actors in the film (excepting Barrymore), Norton did his own singing, further impressing audiences and critics alike with his versatility. Then, as if two completely different films in one year weren't enough, Norton again wowed audiences that same year with his portrayal of a determined defense attorney in Milos Forman's widely acclaimed The People vs. Larry Flynt.
In 1998, Norton turned in two more stellar performances. The first was as Matt Damon's low-life buddy, the appropriately named Worm, in Rounders. The fact that Norton's work was more or less overshadowed by the film's lackluster reviews was almost negligible when compared to the controversy surrounding his other major project that year, American History X. Norton's stunningly powerful portrayal of a reformed white supremacist won him an Oscar nomination, but the film itself was both a box-office disappointment and the subject of vituperative disassociation on the part of its director Tony Kaye, who insisted that Norton and the studio had edited his film beyond recognition. Despite such embittered controversy, Norton managed to emerge from the mess relatively unscathed. After serving as one of the narrators for the acclaimed documentary Out of the Past the same year, he went on to star opposite Brad Pitt and Helena Bonham Carter in Fight Club in 1999. Though that film garnered a mixed reation at the box office, a stellar DVD release helped the film to form a solid fan base and Norton next moved on to the slightly more successful crime drama The Score (2001). After dropping a full-fledged bomb with his appearance as a naieve children's show host in Danny DeVito's black comedy Death to Smoochy, Norton assisted love interest Salma Hayek by offering an uncredited re-write of the script. Norton would also make a brief appearance as Nelson Rockefeller in the film. Drawn to the mystique of screen villain Hannibal Lecter, Norton's next major was that of FBI agent Will Graham in the well-recieved 2002 thriller Red Dragon. Though a virtual remake of Michael Mann's 1986 effort Manhunter, Red Dragon stood tall enough on its own terms to gain the respect of both fans of the previous version as well as fans of the book. His appearance as a drug-dealer celebrating one last night on the town before serving a prison term in Spike Lee's 25th Hour drew decent enought reviews, though its ultimate take at the box office proved fairly disappointing.
An appearance in the high profile 2003 remake The Italian Job caused something of a rift in industry headlines when Norton made it publicly known that his participation in the film was strictly a result of contractual obligation, and in 2005 the actor would return to quieter, more challenging territory with his portrayal of a delusional cowboy wannabe in Dahmer director David Jacobson's Down in the Valley. A headlining performance as a turn-of-the-century Vienna magician who uses his powers to win the love of the woman he longs for in the romantic fantasy The Illusionist found Norton making a particularly powerful impression opposite Paul Giamatti and Jessical Biel, and later that same year he would return to the screen in director John Curran's screen adaptation of W. Somerset Maugham's novel The Painted Veil. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Aside from acting, Norton made his directorial debut with the film Keeping the Faith (2000) and is slated to direct the film adaptation of the novel Motherless Brooklyn, set to be released in 2010. He is a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners, a non-profit organization for developing affordable housing, as well as a social activist.
Norton moved to New York City and began his acting career in off-Broadway theater,[2][3] breaking through with his 1993 involvement in Edward Albee's Fragments at the Signature Theatre Company.[3] His first major film was 1996's Primal Fear, which tells a story of a defense attorney (Richard Gere), who defends Aaron Stampler, an altar boy (Norton), charged with the murder of a Roman Catholic archbishop. The movie is an adaptation of William Diehl's 1993 novel.[7] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly wrote: "Norton gives a performance that's fully the equal of Gere's -- he's as slyly self-effacing as Gere is slyly ostentatious."[8] Alison Macor of The Austin Chronicle, in review of the film, wrote, "Norton's performance and the well-paced tension preceding the movie's climactic sequence provide an entertaining if slightly predictable thriller."[9] Despite the mixed reviews,[10] Norton won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.[11][12]
In 1998, he took on the role of Derek Vinyard, a reformed neo-Nazi in the film American History X.[13]David Denby of The New Yorker noted that Norton gives Derek "ambiguous erotic allure; he's almost appealing".[14]American History X received positive reception,[15] and grossed over $23 million worldwide at the box office.[16] His performance in the film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor.[12] He packed on 30 pounds (13 kg) of muscle for his role in American History X but did not maintain the physique after production.[2][3] Also in 1998, Norton starred opposite Matt Damon in Rounders, a movie following two friends who need to quickly earn enough cash playing poker to pay off a huge debt.[17]
In the 1999 film Fight Club, Norton played the nameless protagonist, an everyman and an unreliable narrator who feels trapped with his white-collar position in society. The film, an adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name, was directed by David Fincher.[18] To prepare for the role, Norton took lessons in boxing, taekwondo, and grappling.[19]Fight Club premiered at the 1999 Venice International Film Festival.[20] During promotion for the film, he said, "I feel that Fight Club really, in a way ... probed into the despair and paralysis that people feel in the face of having inherited this value system out of advertising."[21] The film failed to meet expectations at the box office,[22] and received polarized reactions from film critics.[23] However, it became a cult classic after its DVD release.[24]
Norton is generally known for his reluctance to embrace his celebrity status, and has said, "If I ever have to stop taking the subway, I'm gonna have a heart attack."[32] Norton has stated in interviews that he is a fan of the Baltimore Orioles,[33] and was involved in many of Cal Ripken Jr.'s retirement activities in 2001 when he was asked to be a part of Ripken's biography for Major League Baseball (MLB).[33] He attended Ripken's ceremony at the Hall of Fame in July 2007.[34] Norton has a private pilot license and discussed his flight training when interviewed on episodes of The Late Show with David Letterman and Inside the Actor's Studio.[35]
"My Stepdad's Not Mean (He's Just Adjusting)" (also songwriter)
"Smoochy's Methadone Song"
"Smoochy's Magic Jungle Theme"
"The Friends Song" (also lyrics)
