Edward Norton Biography

Edward Norton was born to a privileged family in Massachusetts. An extremely bright and serious young boy, he deciding at the age of 5 to pursue acting. He first 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.

Edward Norton got his big break in 1996's "Primal Fear." He was credited with rescuing the film when the producers of the Hollywood courtroom thriller were struggling to find a co-star for actor Richard Gere. After Leonardo DiCaprio turned down the role, casting had auditioned 2,100 actors. Norton sported a flawless Southern drawl and decided to give the character a stutter, blowing away directors in the screen test with the convincing intensity of his performance. He garnered a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor for the role.

On the power of Hollywood word-of-mouth alone, Norton had several serious film roles lined up before "Primal Fear" hit theaters, such as "Everyone Says I Love You" and "The People Vs. Larry Flynt."

Norton's supporting turn in "Rounders," 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" that earned him the second Oscar nomination for Best Actor.

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 Palanhiuk. The film became a cult hit and catapulted Norton to the realm of A-List actors.

In 2000, he starred in "Keeping the Faith," a romantic comedy featuring Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman in an unusual love triangle. Norton also produced and directed the film. He then co-starred alongside heavy-hitters Robert De Niro and Marlon Brando in the crime film "The Score."

After a hectic roll-out of films in 2002, 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." 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" and "The Painted Veil." In 2006, Norton starred in the historical mystery drama "The Illusionist" and then went on to play the title character in "The Incredible Hulk." The latter film proved to be a summer box-office hit, netting more than $134 million.

Outside of acting, Norton supports a number of social and political causes. One of his most recent projects was raising funds for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. To accomplish this goal, Norton assembled a team to run the 2009 ING New York City Marathon with him. They were able to raise more than $1.1 million. In May 2010, Norton launched a website called Crowdrise, which uses a social networking platform to help raise funds for charity. Philanthropic Norton played soccer for an "England vs. The Rest of the World" match, a charity event also attended by other actors such as Will Ferrell and Woody Harrelson. The event eventually raised over £4,000,000 for UNICEF UK.

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