Edward Norton
American actor
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- Brother of Molly Norton and James Norton.
- Was once attached to star as the lead in Runaway Jury (2003)
- Was considered for the role of Andy Kaufman in Man on the Moon (1999). Director Milos Forman could not decide between him and Jim Carrey and left the decision up to the studio. The studio decided to go with Carrey.
- Turned down the role of Bruce Banner in Hulk (2003), but took the part in The Incredible Hulk (2008).
- When Norton met with the director for Primal Fear (1996), he told them that he, like Aaron, came from eastern Kentucky. Norton even spoke with the twang (which he prepared by watching Coal Miner's Daughter (1980)).
- Shares a birthday with Patrick Swayze, Denis Leary, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Robert Redford.
- Voted International Man of the Year (2003) By British GQ Magazine
- On his return to New York, it took less than two years of waiting tables before the young thespian to capture the eye of Edward Albee, one of the most celebrated playwrights of the 20th century. Albee was working with the Signature Theater Company on a new production of Fragments. One audition and Norton landed the role, as well as a slot in Signature's repertory company. He currently serves on its board of directors.
- His babysitter, Betsy True, went on to perform as Cossette in a Broadway version of Les Miserables. She was the one who originally got Edward interested in acting, taking him to see his first play ("If I Were A Princess") at age six.
- In July 1998, after a New Yorker jibe in a review of a documentary about Courtney Love, Norton sent the magazine a frameable letter. Norton's missive was in response to "Endless Love," a piece by Daphne Merkin centering on Nick Broomfield's controversial documentary _Kurt & Courtney (1998)_. The film, filled with speculation that Love's husband Kurt Cobain was a murder victim rather than a suicide, features a litany of Love-haters anxious to air their grievances. The magazine's coverage of Broomfield's film "along with Merkin's thoughtful contributions" didn't sit well with Norton.
- While a precocious 8-year-old actor, he asked a surprised director of a play, "what is my objective here?" The director was so startled by his interest in acting.
- Speaks some Japanese, which helped when he worked, briefly, for his grandfather's company, The Enterprise Foundation. He was assigned to the Osaka, Japan branch until he decided to quit the desk job grind (at his grandfather's suggestion) and try to break into acting in New York.
- Played "Captain" in a VH1 "Captain & Tenille" Behind the Music skit on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) with friend Drew Barrymore the night before the 1999 Oscars when he was a nominee for American History X (1998). Drew then accompanied Edward to the Oscars the day after.
- Grandfather James Rouse is also known as the "inventor" of the shopping mall.
- Holds benefit screenings of his films mostly at The Senator Theatre in Baltimore, MD to benefit some charities that includes the Living Classroooms Foundation and the St. Frances Academy Robin Norton Scholarship Fund in honor of his late mother.
- He served as Artistic Director for the Signature Theatre Company in New York from 2001-2003. He is currently still on the board.
- He applied to be a New York City cab driver, but he was rejected for the license because he didn't meet the age requirement.
- Partner is producer Shauna Robertson.
- Shaved his head and gained 30 pounds of muscle in 3 months by drinking protein shakes, meat shakes (blended roast beef), and lifting weights non-stop for his role as Dereck Vinyard in American History X (1998).
- Was born in Boston, Massachusetts and was raised in Columbia, Maryland.
- He treasures his private life and being able to live a normal life - and can't imagine not being able to take the New York subway if he gets too famous.
- As a response to the events of September 11th and the increasing conflict in the Middle East, he contributed to establish the Middle East Peacemakers Fund at Yale University.
- His grandfather, James Rouse, designed the planned community Norton was born in - Columbia, Maryland.
- Is an active member of Friends of The High Line, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and reuse of the High Line - a 1.5 mile, elevated railway that runs along the West Side of Manhattan. Norton appears in a video made by Good Mag about the conversion of the old rail line into a multi-use trail.