Edward Norton graduated from Yale University in 1991 with a BA in history, where he took a strong interest and involvement in theater with fellow classmate and future actor Ron Livingston. After graduation he taught English as a second language at NOVA Group in Japan before professionally pursuing an acting career.
In New York City Edward Norton broke into the world of theater with off-Broadway and became a member of the Signature Players, which produced playwright and director Edward Albee’s works. His film debut in the 1996 flick Primal Fear, co-starring Richard Gere and Laura Linney, garnered him a Golden Globe and a nomination for an Oscar for his portrayal of a sociopath convict.
The role was originally offered to actor Leonardo DiCaprio, but he turned it down before Norton snatched it up. Edward Norton was later offered roles in The People vs. Larry Flynt with Woody Harrelson and Courtney Love as well as Woody Allen’s Everyone Says I Love You with Drew Barrymore.
Edward Norton went on to portray a violent white supremacist in American History X in 1998, garnering him another Oscar nomination for Best Actor. The following year he became insanely popular along with Brad Pitt for Fight Club, and in 2000 Edward Norton directed for the first time in Keeping the Faith, a romantic-comedy film in which he also acted opposite Ben Stiller and Jenna Elfman.
Other notable films featuring Edward Norton include Rounders, with Matt Damon in 1998, Red Dragon in 2002, with Anthony Hopkins and Ralph Fiennes; The Italian Job in 2003, with a stellar cast including Mark Wahlberg, Charlize Theron, Donald Sutherland, and Seth Green; and Kingdom of Heaven in 2005, in which he played a leper king.
Edward Norton, a self-proclaimed "Deadhead," is unmarried and doesn't yet have any children. He has previously dated actresses Salma Hayek and Drew Barrymore as well as actress and musician Courtney Love, who co-starred with him in The People vs. Larry Flynt, and for whom he served as a temporary guitarist with her band, Hole, during their relationship.
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