Edward Norton

Season 9, Episode 906

Original Airdate: January 12, 2003

Edward James Norton, Jr. was born in Columbia, Maryland on August 18, 1969. At age 5, Norton attended a performance of “If I Were a Princess” and the actor within him was born. Not long after, while rehearsing a scene for his elementary school play, he was heard asking his teacher what his motivation was.

Norton's professional career began in New York, as a member of the Signature Players performing the works of playwright and director Edward Albee. Working odd jobs while attending every audition possible, Norton built a reputation for himself as a gifted presence in the New York off-broadway stage.

Norton's big break on the silver screen came with an audition for the role opposite Richard Gere in the courtroom thriller Primal Fear. Norton's critically acclaimed and award winning performance as a troubled boy suffering from multiple personality disorder put him in high demand, and he went on to star in Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You and The People vs. Larry Flynt. Norton then wowed audiences again with his performance as a reformed neo-nazi in American History X.

Firmly establishing his reputation as an uncommon talent and accomplished leading man, Norton went on to star with Brad Pitt in Fight Club, and made his directorial debut with the comedy Keeping the Faith. Most recently, Norton has appeared in Red Dragon, Spike Lee's 25th Hour, and Frida.

Norton is known for carefully guarding his personal life from the press, and savoring his time away from the camera with family and friends. His reputation as a serious and committed actor along with the range and difficulty of roles he has chosen makes his continuing career as impressive as it is diverse.