Edward Norton
Edward Norton
Edward Harrison Nortonis an American actor, filmmaker and activist. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his work in the films Primal Fear, American History Xand Birdman. He also starred in other roles, such as Everyone Says I Love You, The People vs. Larry Flynt, Fight Club, Red Dragon, 25th Hour, Kingdom of Heaven, The Illusionist, Moonrise Kingdomand The Grand Budapest Hotel. He has also directed and co-written films, including his directorial debut, Keeping the Faith. He has...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth18 August 1969
CountryUnited States of America
If you feel like someone just knows what this is about to their core, they're going to have that special confidence in it.You stop looking at the seams and they start inhabiting the same space and start interacting with each .
People think because I went to Yale that that implies privilege, and it is a privilege in the sense that it's an incredible opportunity.
But look at Avatar [2009], one of the most globally viewed pieces of entertainment to have ever been made - the central emotional event of the whole movie was a tree being cut down. And the entire movie, essentially, is saying, "If we let the military industrial complex trash the place that we're living in, we will have committed an epic crime."
As an actor, I don't have any politics. As an actor, I'm driven more by an authentic - I would say an obsessive-compulsive-disorder level-fixation on mimicry, tonality of voice, to literally imitate something until I can just disappear into it.
People say you can't make movies about your politics or the environment. And, generally speaking, I completely divide those sides of my brain.
It's better for people to miss you than to have seen too much of you.
But work that's got real substance does make people feel, "There's someone else out there who relates to my experience, or who just helped me understand my own experience a little bit better." And I think that's still got enormous value.
A lot of why I do something is just the novelty of the experience.
Basically, I think 21st century conservation is moving toward preserving ecosystems by dealing with the needs of people.
I've always liked the idea of taking old dramatic ideas and devices and making them feel relevant or contemporary or whatever.
Making really great music, making really great films, writing great books is an antidote to all of that. And, as people, as artists, some of the massive disruption that technology is causing is so exciting, the way that people can share creativity now.
If I ever have to stop taking the subway, I'm gonna have a heart attack.
My generation is having its midlife crisis in its 20s.
You know, independent films have been institutionalized, practically. Every studio has got a boutique arthouse label.