Edward Harrison Norton born August 18, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. After graduating from Yale College in with a degree in history, he worked for a few months in Japan before moving to Manhattan to pursue an acting career. He gained recognition and critical acclaim for his debut in Primal Fear , which earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination in the same category.
He also starred in the film Fight Club , which garnered a cult following. Norton established the production company Class 5 Films in , and was director or producer of the films Keeping the Faith , Down in the Valley , and The Painted Veil Norton is an environmental activist and social entrepreneur.
He is a trustee of Enterprise Community Partners , a non-profit organization that advocates for affordable housing, and serves as president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust. He was raised in Columbia, Maryland.
At age five, Norton and his parents saw a musical related to Cinderella at the Columbia Center for Theatrical Arts CCTA , starring his babysitter, which ignited his interest in the theater. In , Norton won the acting cup at Pasquaney, an annual summer camp for boys in Hebron, New Hampshire , where he later returned as a theater director. After five months in Japan, Norton moved to New York City, where he supported himself working odd jobs.
He later took lessons from acting coach Terry Schreiber after discovering he was looking for a Japanese translator to help direct a play in Tokyo. Norton also wrote scripts for plays at the Signature Theatre Company and starred in off-Broadway theater.
