Who doesn’t admire Edward Norton? In a career spanning over 25 years, Norton has over forty credits to his name after exploding into the business with Primal Fear all of the way back in 1996. Since then, he has directed two movies, Keeping The Faith and the excellent Motherless Brooklyn just last year, as well as appearing in the likes of Rounders, Fight Club, The Incredible Hulk, and many more.
This article is born with a single motto of introducing you with a few of some of his must-watch movies – five of the best featuring the now 50-year-old actor. He is an American movie star and a film director, known for his soul melting performances. Norton was reportedly interested in acting since the age of just five. He started his Hollywood journey with that Primal Fear and received the Golden Globe award for best-supporting actor the following year. Let’s take a look back at his glittering career so far.
Primal Fear
Primal Fear is a thriller released in 1996 from director Gregory Hoblit and Norton reportedly won the role over 2000 other hopefuls to land the part that would make his name in the business. The film is ab adaptation of the 1993 novel of the same name which would see Norton go on to win the Golden Globe award for his performance in a supporting role.
The movie sees Richard Gere portraying a defense attorney of Chicago, who firmly believes in his teenage client who is a suspect of a Catholic Archbishop’s murder. Primal Fear was an immediate success at the box office and praised with numerous positive reviews. Norton was also nominated for an Academy Award for his marvelous performance in this film, his first of three nominations throughout his career.
The Incredible Hulk
The Incredible Hulk is a Hollywood superhero film released in 2008 from the now huge Marvel stable. The film encompasses Marvel comic’s popular superhero character, Hulk, seen in many Marvel Studios’ movies since. Louis Leterrier directed the film, and Edward Norton was cast as the main character of Hulk/ Bruce Banner. The origin storyline revolves around Banner and how he becomes Hulk reluctantly due to a secret super-soldier program of the military.
After escaping from the military facility, he is now looking to cure himself of his mutated situation. This film was the second in the now twenty-movie-plus strong Marvel Cinematic Universe and was a huge hit with $264.8 million secured from the global box office.
Rounders
Rounders is the American film that created a stir amongst film fans in Norton’s earlier career back in 1998. The film tells the tale of two young friends, trying their luck in high-stakes poker for paying off a big debt. John Dahl magnificently directed the film, and minutely portrays the very essence of poker rooms.
Edward Norton stars along with Matt Damon with the title “Rounders” relating to a person who is pursuing their quest of high stake-card games by visiting different cities. The casino excitement portrayed in the film is derived from real life. Though set before the rise in popularity of playing slots and other games on website like NetBet which offers real-life casino gaming online, Rounders focusses on live play, which is still popular around the world – perhaps even more so in the present day.
The Bourne Legacy
The Bourne Legacy is an action thriller released in back in 2012 from director Tony Gilroy, based on a novel series written by Robert Ludlum. This is a fourth film after The Bourne Identity in 2002, The Bourne Supremacy in 2004, and The Bourne Ultimatum in 2007, all of which starred Matt Damon as Jason Bourne.
The screenplay differs from the original novel – in the film, Jason Bourne is not the protagonist. This film revolves around a black ops agent named Aaron Cross. Bourne is present in the movie, as he is mentioned in pictures and by name, but does not directly appear on the screen.
The Score
Directed by Frank Oz, The Score was released in 2001. The film is known for its excellent performances from its amazing cast, which includes Edward Norton, Robert De Niro and screen icon Marlon Brando, appearing in his last movie. The Score’s storyline is inspired by a story written by Kario Salem and Daniel E. Taylor and tells a story of a safe-cracking master named Nick Wells. The story follows the consequences Nick Wells faces after deciding on his retirement. It portrays those events and those leading up to his final score.
Concluding Thoughts
We have discussed the 5 most intriguing pieces of Hollywood movies, where Edward Norton’s performance is very noticeable – he’s very often seen up against some of Hollywood’s greats. These just scratch the surface of a glittering career both in front and behind the camera. Truly one of the modern greats.
