|
| |
Norton was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Columbia, Maryland. His mother Robin, an English teacher, died of a brain tumor in 1997; his father, Edward Sr. is an attorney and former federal prosecutor under the Carter administration who now works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. Norton Jr. is the grandson of developer James W. Rouse (also see The Rouse Company), who designed the city of Columbia, Maryland (where Norton grew up) and who also helped develop Baltimore's Inner Harbor and Boston's Quincy Market. He has two younger siblings; his sister Molly Norton, who attended Washington and Lee University and his brother Jim with whom he has collaborated professionally.
Norton graduated from Wilde Lake High School in 1987, then from Yale University in 1991 with a B.A. in history. It was at Yale that Norton became heavily involved in theater, taking as many classes as he could although never majoring in drama. Actors Ron Livingston and Paul Giamatti were classmates and fellow collegiate actors.
Following graduation, Norton worked in Osaka, Japan, consulting for his grandfather's company, Enterprise Foundation.
Norton moved to New York City and began his acting career in Off-Broadway theater.
Moving into film, he was launched into the spotlight by 1996's Primal Fear, in which he played Aaron Stampler, a young man accused of a brutal murder, and for which he won a Golden Globe and a nomination for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor.
He earned Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, for his role as a reformed neo-Nazi in 1998's American History X, then in the 1998 card playing hit Rounders with Matt Damon, and he also starred in the 1999 adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's cult novel Fight Club. He played himself in a cameo role in the experimental comedy show Stella, and won critical acclaim for his uncredited role as the leper king of Jerusalem in Kingdom of Heaven. In 2006, he starred in the independent movie The Illusionist, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and later became a sleeper hit when it was released theatrically in August.
He has also done uncredited script work on some of the films he has appeared in, specifically Frida and The Score.
In 2000, he made his debut as a film director with Keeping the Faith. He will also direct his film adaptation of the novel Motherless Brooklyn.
Detailed Information
|
