Some people like Edward Norton and some don’t. There are stories about him in the news that might make you stand against him but there are a lot of reasons to like him too. What you decide to believe from the media is ultimately up to you, but the fact of the matter is that Edward Norton is first and foremost a decent actor that has successfully nailed down some very prominent roles in his time. Now let’s not get into a discussion as to whether or not he was the right fit for Bruce Banner, that debate kind of came and went when Mark Ruffalo was given the spot. But when it comes to other roles he’s been spot on with his performance and has been as impressive being the weak little wimpy guy as he has been being the overly aggressive, muscled aggressor. You could say that he’s had to go from one extreme to another in his career and to this point it’s worked.
Here are a few other things you might not have known about him.
10. For a while he worked overseas in Japan.
He was working for a relative at the time and building houses for those that needed them. Honestly this seems like the act of someone that’s more than willing to give of himself to make the lives other people better. That seems like a big mark in his favor.
9. He waited tables for a bit before being discovered as an actor.
It doesn’t matter how long he was at a regular job, the fact is that he did it and probably came to the same conclusion as a lot of other people that have been in the service industry; it’s a thankless job. But thankfully he was noticed by the right person and acting came not too long after.
8. In the movie Primal Fear he added the stutter to the character.
In the book his character didn’t have a stutter, but Edward decided to put one in. This wasn’t some mistake, he meant to do, it and the director liked it so much that he left it in. So long something works there’s a good chance that an actor might get away with it.
7. When he starred in Rounders he changed a part of his character to make him a non-smoker.
Worm was kind of a disgusting character no matter what since he was a leech and a mooch rolled into one pathetic individual, but Edward refused to take up smoking for the role so he convinced those in charge to change things around.
6. He got the role in Fight Club after the director watched him in The People vs. Larry Flynt.
This is kind of surprising since the Narrator and the lawyer in The People vs. Larry Flynt were such different characters that it’s hard to see what the director might have seen that told him Norton would be a good fit. But obviously it worked.
5. Edward turned down a role in Saving Private Ryan.
He actually turned down the role of Private Ryan, who was barely seen in the movie compared to the other actors. This might have been a good or a bad decision since the movie itself it still loved by many.
4. He was considered for the movie Man on the Moon.
There was a choice between him and Jim Carrey, and since the studio didn’t know much about Norton they decided to go with the comedy of Carrey since he was a known commodity, someone they believed they could work with.
3. For Fight Club he had to lose a good deal of weight.
Edward Norton isn’t that big of a guy when you really look at him anyway, but he still had to slim down to play the part of the Narrator since they needed someone that was as opposite from Brad Pitt as they could get. It was the definitive idea of a skinny little nothing being friends with a fit and muscular guy that was supremely confident and popular.
2. He happens to love his private life.
Norton isn’t about to go lead a life of seclusion but he definitely likes being able to move about without people recognizing and then mobbing him. He would rather be able to go out in public and move around just like everyone else, but he does enjoy the fame like so many others. He just doesn’t enjoy people being up in his business that often. You can’t blame the guy really.
1. If he wasn’t acting he said he’d be a pilot.
That would be a definite switch, since picturing him as a pilot is kind of a hard thing to do after he’s done so much on screen. It’d be easier to picture him as a law enforcement agent at this point.
Like him or not, Edward Norton is a great actor.
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