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Edward Norton
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Edward H. Norton[1] (born August 18, 1969) is a two-time Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning American film actor and director.
Contents
- 1 Early life
- 2 Career
- 3 Filmography
- 4 Music credits
- 5 Awards and nominations
- 6 Trivia
- 7 References
- 8 External links
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Early life
Norton was born in
Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in
Columbia, Maryland. His mother Robin, an English teacher, died of a
brain tumor in
1997; his father, Edward Sr. is an attorney and former federal prosecutor under the
Carter administration who now works for the
Nature Conservancy. Norton Jr. is the grandson of developer
James W. Rouse (also see
The Rouse Company), who designed the city of
Columbia, Maryland (where Norton grew up) and who also helped develop
Baltimore's
Inner Harbor,
Norfolk's
Waterside Festival Marketplace, and Boston's
Quincy Market. He has two younger siblings; his sister Molly Norton, who attended
Washington and Lee University and his brother Jim with whom he has collaborated professionally.
Norton graduated from Wilde Lake High School in 1987, then from Yale University in 1991 with a B.A. in history. It was at Yale that Norton became heavily involved in theater, taking as many classes as he could although never majoring in drama. Actors Ron Livingston and Paul Giamatti were classmates and fellow collegiate actors.
Following graduation, Norton worked in Osaka, Japan, consulting for his grandfather's company, Enterprise Foundation. He also appeared in an ESL textbook, Only in America, used by Nova, a major Japanese language school. [1]
Career
Norton moved to New York City and began his acting career in Off-Broadway theater.
Moving into film, Norton cut his teeth playing a series of dark, grotesque characters, quickly launching him into the spotlight, beginning with 1996's
Primal Fear. In the film, he took on the role of
Aaron Stampler, a deeply disturbed young man accused of a brutal murder, for which he won a
Golden Globe and a nomination for the
Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. In 1998, his portrayal of a reformed neo-
Nazi in
American History X earned him an Academy Award nomination for
Best Actor and his role as a
card shark pitted him opposite
Matt Damon in
1998's poker-playing hit
Rounders. His blockbuster performance alongside
Brad Pitt as the misanthropic narrator in the 1999 adaptation of
Chuck Palahniuk's cult novel
Fight Club, however, exponentially expanded his growing cult fan base.
He played himself in a cameo role in the experimental comedy show Stella, and won critical acclaim for his uncredited role as the leper king of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven. In 2006, he starred in the independent movie The Illusionist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later became a sleeper hit when it was released theatrically in August.
He has also done uncredited script work on some of the films he has appeared in, specifically Frida, which he claims to have written entirely[2], and The Score.
In 2000, he made his debut as a director with Keeping the Faith. He will also direct his film adaptation of the novel Motherless Brooklyn.
In 2006, the Academy Awards ceased offering gift baskets (containing items often valued at anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000 per basket) to performers and hosts at the ceremony, due to an IRS decision to audit actors and actresses who did not report these gifts as income on their tax returns. Norton spoke out in favor of this change, calling the baskets "obscene" and suggesting that money be donated to a charity of the winner's choice. [2]
Filmography
Director Credits
Producer Credits
Music credits
Everyone Says I Love You (1996)
- Song Performer ("Just You Just Me", "My Baby Just Cares for Me", "I'm Thru With Love")
Death to Smoochy (2002)
- Song/Song Performer ("My Stepdad's Not Mean (He's Just Adjusting)")
- Song Performer ("Smoochy's Methadone Song", "Smoochy's Magic Jungle Theme", "The Cookie Chant")
Awards and nominations
Trivia
- 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."[3]
- He has put time and money toward social activist causes, including improving the quality of living in low-income communities.
- He has been a particularly strong supporter of Eliot Spitzer, who was elected governor of New York in 2006. Norton has introduced Spitzer at several campaign events and also rode on his campaign bus.
- He is a member of the trustees of the Enterprise Foundation, a non-profit developer of affordable housing. He is also well-known for his support for environmental causes and renewable energy projects, such as BP's Solar Neighbors program.[4][5][6][7][8]
References
- ^ Edward Norton - Frequently Asked Questions. Retrieved on 2006-12-19.
- ^ Edward Norton - A.V. Club Interview. Retrieved on 2007-1-09.
- ^ IMDb. Retrieved on 2007-1-09.
- ^ Ed Norton, BP Solar and the High Line at treehugger.com
- ^ Edward Norton at solarneighbors.com
- ^ Interview with Edward Norton at grist.org
- ^ Edward Norton at enterprisecommunity.org
- ^ Hollywood stars heat up solar power at CNN.com
