Edward Norton - Career

Career

Norton moved to New York City and began his acting career in Off-Broadway theater, breaking through with his 1993 involvement in Edward Albee's Fragments, at the Signature Theatre Company. His first film was 1996's Primal Fear, which tells a story of a defense attorney (Richard Gere), who defends Aaron Stampler (Norton), an altar boy charged with the murder of a Roman Catholic archbishop. The movie is an adaptation of William Diehl's 1993 novel. 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." 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." Despite the mixed reviews, Norton won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. That same year, Norton appeared as lawyer Alan Isaacman in The People vs. Larry Flynt.

In 1998, he took on the role of Derek Vinyard, a reformed neo-Nazi, in the film American History X. David Denby of The New Yorker noted that Norton gives Derek "ambiguous erotic allure; he's almost appealing". American History X received positive reception, and grossed over $23 million worldwide at the box office. His performance in the film earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. He packed on 30 pounds (13 kg) of muscle for his role in American History X but did not maintain the physique after production. 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.

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. To prepare for the role, Norton took lessons in boxing, taekwondo, and grappling. Fight Club premiered at the 1999 Venice International Film Festival. 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." The film failed to meet expectations at the box office, and received polarized reactions from film critics. However, it became a cult classic after its DVD release.

In 2002, he starred in Brett Ratner's Red Dragon as FBI profiler Will Graham and in Spike Lee's 25th Hour. While Red Dragon received mixed reviews, it was commercially successful. 25th Hour was praised by critics, particularly for its examination of a post-9/11 New York City, but failed to break even. In 2003 Norton was forced by Paramount Studios, under threat of lawsuit having signed a three film contract when he signed up for Primal Fear, to appear in The Italian Job (2003), for which he accordingly refused to promote upon its release. Norton won critical acclaim for his role as Baldwin IV, the leper king of Jerusalem, in Kingdom of Heaven. Norton portrayed Marvel Comics character Bruce Banner / the Hulk in the Marvel Studios film The Incredible Hulk, released in 2008. Norton's failed attempt to rewrite the film along lines of his own choosing resulted in his refusal to promote the film. He had been expected to reprise his role as the character in the 2012 film The Avengers, but the role was later confirmed to have been given to Mark Ruffalo.

In 2006, Norton starred in two films: Down in the Valley, as a dangerous drifter affecting to be a cowpoke, and in The Illusionist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later became a sleeper hit when it went into general release. In 2010, Norton appeared in two films again: in Leaves of Grass, as estranged identical twins (one a small-time drug dealer and the other a Harvard professor); and in Stone, which reunited Norton with his The Score cast-mate Robert De Niro, and in which Norton plays a convict trying to con his parole officer (De Niro) into an early release. In 2008, Norton starred in New Line Cinema's Pride and Glory, as an honest detective assigned to investigate the precinct run by his older brother. The film was not well received by critics, not strongly supported by the studio, and despite also starring Colin Farrell and Jon Voight, its worldwide grosses totaled only $31.1 million, against a production budget of $30 million.

Norton played himself in a cameo role in the experimental comedy show Stella, and made another comedic television appearance on the Emmy award-winning ABC show Modern Family in 2010, playing a fictional member of real life '80s new wave band Spandau Ballet.

Norton has also done uncredited script work on some of the films he has appeared in, specifically The Score, Frida, and The Incredible Hulk. In 2000, Norton made his debut as a director with Keeping the Faith. He will also direct the film adaptation of the novel Motherless Brooklyn.

Norton stars in the 2012 movie The Bourne Legacy as the villain Eric Byer.