100 Facts About Edward Norton

Edward Harrison Norton was born on August 18,1969 and is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter.

Edward Norton gained recognition and critical acclaim for his debut in Primal Fear, which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination in the same category.

Edward Norton starred in the film Fight Club, which garnered a cult following.

Edward Norton continued to receive praise for his acting roles in films such as The Score, 25th Hour, The Italian Job, The Illusionist, Moonrise Kingdom, and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

Edward Norton has directed and acted in the crime film Motherless Brooklyn and starred in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.

Edward Norton is a trustee of Enterprise Community Partners, a non-profit organization that advocates for affordable housing, and serves as president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

Edward Harrison Norton was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on August 18,1969.

Edward Norton's mother, Lydia Robinson "Robin", was an English teacher who died following surgery to remove a brain tumor in 1997.

Edward Norton enjoyed watching films with his father as a pre-teen, but later reflected that he was fascinated with the cinematography rather than the acting.

Edward Norton recalled that it was theater and not films that inspired him to act.

Edward Norton made his professional debut at the age of eight in the musical Annie Get Your Gun at his hometown's Toby's Dinner Theatre.

In 1984, Edward Norton won the acting cup at Pasquaney, an annual summer camp for boys in Hebron, New Hampshire, where he later returned as a theater director.

Edward Norton subsequently immersed himself in films, naming Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro as two of his early inspirations because "the ones [he] liked were the ones who made [him] think [he] could do it because they weren't the most handsome guys".

Edward Norton graduated from Wilde Lake High School in 1987.

Edward Norton attended Yale College, graduating in 1991 with Bachelor of Arts in history.

Edward Norton took six months researching different acting techniques, focusing on method acting.

Edward Norton later took lessons from acting coach Terry Schreiber after discovering he was looking for a Japanese translator to help direct a play in Tokyo.

Edward Norton described him as a great teacher who encouraged students to become "multilingual actors" with different techniques for versatile roles.

Edward Norton wrote scripts for plays at the Signature Theatre Company and starred in off-Broadway theater.

In 1994, Edward Norton auditioned for Albee's Finding the Sun but did not get the part.

Albee found a new role for him instead and had Edward Norton read for Fragments.

Albee remarked that Edward Norton was a rare actor "who really knocked me out".

Edward Norton recalled that he was inspired by Al Pacino, who began his career in theater while struggling to establish himself in New York.

Edward Norton then rented a studio space near The Public Theater and presented his auditions of Shakespearean works to her.

Edward Norton was selected for the part over two thousand other prospects.

Edward Norton's performance was lauded by critics; Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praised Norton's character as "completely convincing", while Peter Stack of the San Francisco Chronicle dubbed the actor "the one to watch" after his debut.

Edward Norton won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and was nominated for an Academy Award in the same category for his role in the film.

Edward Norton starred in two other films released in 1996; he played Larry Flynt's lawyer Alan Isaacman in Milos Forman's biographical drama The People vs Larry Flynt and Holden Spence in Woody Allen's musical film Everyone Says I Love You.

In 1998, Edward Norton starred alongside Matt Damon in Rounders, which follows two friends who urgently need cash and play poker to pay off a huge debt.

The film and Edward Norton's performance received a lukewarm response; Entertainment Weekly wrote that his acting "never really goes anywhere", while the Chicago Reader observed that his character was not good enough to make the film interesting.

Edward Norton received an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, and won a Golden Satellite Award in the same category.

In 2000, Edward Norton made his directorial debut with the romantic comedy Keeping the Faith, starring as a priest named Brian Finn.

In 2001's heist film The Score, Edward Norton plays Jack Teller, an ambitious young thief caught in an unlikely alliance with career criminal Nick Wells arranged by his fence, Max.

The San Francisco Chronicle stated that despite starring with screen legends De Niro and Brando, Edward Norton's acting "outdoes even that of Brando".

Edward Norton played kids show host Sheldon Mopes, who quickly rises to fame for his character "Smoochy the Rhino", in the black comedy Death to Smoochy.

Edward Norton portrayed Nelson Rockefeller in the biopic film Frida, which depicts the life of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.

Edward Norton rewrote the script several times without credit, focusing on the historical context and adding some humor while retaining Kahlo's real-life personality.

The final screenplay, with Edward Norton's contribution, received positive reviews from critics as well as admiration from the film's co-stars including Hayek and Alfred Molina, who portrayed Kahlo's husband and fellow artist Diego Rivera.

Edward Norton's instinct is going to be, 'I have to take over this film.

Edward Norton was cast as Baldwin IV, the leper king of Jerusalem, in Ridley Scott's 2005 historical film Kingdom of Heaven.

Edward Norton had two major film roles in 2006, starring as Eisenheim the magician in The Illusionist and bacteriologist Walter Fane in The Painted Veil.

Edward Norton co-produced The Painted Veil, in which he starred with Naomi Watts, who portrayed his character's unfaithful wife.

Edward Norton appeared in two documentaries in 2007: Brando, which chronicles the life and career of screen legend Marlon Brando, with whom Edward Norton co-starred in 2001's The Score, and Man from Plains, which depicts the post-presidency endeavors of former US president Jimmy Carter.

Edward Norton starred in the crime drama Pride and Glory as Ray Tierney, an honest detective assigned to investigate the precinct run by his older brother.

Edward Norton joined the project during pre-production in 2006 and constantly provided rewrites of the script.

Director Louis Leterrier welcomed his contributions, saying that, "Edward Norton's script has given Bruce's story real gravitas".

The Writers Guild of America credited Penn as the sole writer, arguing that Edward Norton had not contributed significantly to the screenplay.

Edward Norton did not participate in promoting the film and went to Africa for humanitarian activities instead, leading to rumors that Edward Norton was sparking conflicts with the film's producers.

Edward Norton dismissed the accusations and said that the media had misrepresented the "healthy" collaborations for headlines.

The Wall Street Journal felt that Edward Norton's presence improved the film to "a thunderously efficient enterprise" from the 2003 version.

Edward Norton was expected to reprise his role in future Marvel Cinematic Universe ventures, including the 2012 blockbuster The Avengers.

Edward Norton later claimed that he chose not to play Hulk again because he "wanted more diversity" and opted against associating himself with one character throughout his career.

In 2009, Edward Norton produced the documentary By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, which follows former US president Barack Obama's campaigns leading to his 2008 election victory.

Edward Norton planned for this project in 2006, when Obama was a senator from Illinois, elaborating that Obama was "an interesting prism through which to examine politics".

Edward Norton portrayed Brown University Professor Bill and his identical twin Brady Kincaid in the comedy Leaves of Grass, and convicted arsonist Gerald "Stone" Creeson in the crime film Stone.

Edward Norton starred as scoutmaster Randy Ward in charge of finding his missing camper in the coming-of-age film Moonrise Kingdom, directed by Wes Anderson.

Edward Norton produced the comedy-drama Thanks for Sharing under his company Class 5 Films.

In 2014, Edward Norton played in two Academy Award-winning films, The Grand Budapest Hotel and Birdman or.

Edward Norton collaborated again with director Wes Anderson for The Grand Budapest Hotel, which featured an ensemble cast and won four Academy Awards.

The film, as well as Edward Norton's performance, was well received by critics.

Edward Norton played Whit Yardsham, an estranged friend and business partner of Howard Inlet in the 2016 drama Collateral Beauty.

Edward Norton worked again with director Anderson for the 2018 stop motion film Isle of Dogs, in which he voiced Rex, a member of a pack of five dogs.

Edward Norton had announced in February 2014 that he would direct Motherless Brooklyn, a crime drama based on the acclaimed 1999 novel by Jonathan Lethem.

Edward Norton had wanted to work on the project since 1999 but did not begin until Brett Ratner, director of 2002's Red Dragon, joined in to help production.

In 2022, Edward Norton portrayed an obnoxious New York tech billionaire Miles Bron in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, the second installment in Knives Out franchise.

Edward Norton reunited with Wes Anderson to play a supporting role in the comedy drama set in retrofuturistic 1950s, Asteroid City, premiering at the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 23,2023.

Edward Norton reprised his voice role from the animated adult comedy film Sausage Party in the sequel series Sausage Party: Foodtopia, which released on Amazon Prime Video.

Edward Norton next portrayed Pete Seeger opposite Timothee Chalamet in A Complete Unknown, a biopic of Bob Dylan, directed by James Mangold.

Edward Norton learned to play banjo in Seeger's distinctive style for his role.

Edward Norton's performance received praise, and he was nominated for a Golden Globe award and an Academy Award.

Since coming to fame in the mid-1990s, Edward Norton has opted not to discuss his personal life in public, saying that he "believes that excessive media coverage can distract him from fulfilling his role as an actor".

Edward Norton insisted that he was not romantically involved with Love, and the two were only friends and colleagues.

Edward Norton absented himself from the premiere of The Italian Job, in which he starred, to attend the premiere of The Maldonado Miracle, Hayek's directorial debut.

In 2011, Edward Norton proposed to Canadian film producer Shauna Robertson after dating for six years.

Edward Norton appeared on the PBS genealogy series Finding Your Roots in January 2023, where it was confirmed that Pocahontas was his 12th great-grandmother.

Edward Norton learned he is a distant cousin of fellow actors Eric and Julia Roberts.

Edward Norton's father is an environmental lawyer and conservationist; Edward Norton is an environmentalist.

Edward Norton narrated the four-part National Geographic documentary Strange Days on Planet Earth, which examines earth system science.

Edward Norton is an advocate for renewable energy, specifically solar energy and is currently an Advisory Council Member for GoodLeap.

Edward Norton is a supporter of the African Wildlife Foundation and its "Say No" campaign which raises awareness and fights against illegal poaching of elephants and rhinoceroses for ivory and horn.

Edward Norton is the president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.

Edward Norton raised over $1.2 million for the Trust after completing his run.

At his designation ceremony, Edward Norton said that biodiversity is an issue that "transcends national boundaries", with people "having lost sight" of the need for environmental protection.

Edward Norton is a general aviation pilot who flies people in need of access to healthcare in his Cessna 206 aircraft through the organization Angel Flight West.

Edward Norton has served since 1998 as a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners, a non-profit developer of affordable housing founded by his grandparents.

Edward Norton has invested $9 billion in equity capital, pre-development lending, mortgage financing, and house building for low-income Americans.

In 2008, Edward Norton initiated the company's plan to embark on green affordable housing.

Edward Norton attributed his involvement in community building to his upbringing in Columbia, Maryland, which is a planned city built in the 1960s and home to a diverse population.

Edward Norton believes celebrities should "participate quietly" in discussions on politics and social issues as, "Having a public forum tends to make people offer too casual a commentary".

Edward Norton made speeches to encourage voters to support Democratic nominee John Kerry.

Edward Norton was a supporter of Democrat Eliot Spitzer, former New York governor.

Edward Norton produced the 2009 documentary By the People: The Election of Barack Obama, which chronicles Obama's political activities from 2006 to his 2008 election victory.

Edward Norton spoke highly of Obama, citing him as "a perfect framework" to explore contemporary US politics.

Edward Norton produced a campaign video for Obama's 2012 presidential race with Bennett Miller; the video featured voters from diverse economic and racial backgrounds.

Edward Norton expressed "grave concerns" over the Trump administration's position regarding climate change.

In 2020 Edward Norton donated $8,400 to the Joe Biden 2020 presidential campaign.

Edward Norton has been regarded as one of the most talented actors of his generation.

Interview magazine commented that Edward Norton has successfully portrayed a wide range of roles and found it impossible to simply characterize him as a leading man, a villain, or a character actor.

Edward Norton has a strict work ethic and a high desire for professionalism.

Incidents include Edward Norton's editing the final cut of American History X, which is 40 minutes longer than director Tony Kaye's version; conflicts with director Brett Ratner on the set of Red Dragon ; refusing to promote The Italian Job ; and uncredited rewriting of the screenplay for The Incredible Hulk, which angered screenwriter Zak Penn.