Edward Norton at 55: Why Hasn’t This Acting Genius Lived Up to Our Expectations?

Edward Norton is about to turn 55. He’s one of my favorite actors and was one of the first to spark my love for cinema, for as an audience, no matter male or female, it just seems impossible to resist the charisma of Norton.

Unfortunately, in our collective memory, he still seems frozen in time, stuck in the roles he played over two decades ago in American History X and Fight Club.

Norton’s acting talent is undeniable. He burst onto the scene at 26, stealing the show in Primal Fear and completely overshadowing his 46-year-old co-star Richard Gere. This performance earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor, with some even comparing him to the "Mozart of acting" due to his prodigious talent.

But after an early burst of success, Norton’s career didn’t progress as one might have hoped. The three films mentioned above represent the peak of his career, but after that, he hit a prolonged rough patch. Norton’s reluctance to waste time on mainstream commercial films kept him from building strong relationships with major studios. His significant Marvel project, The Incredible Hulk, didn’t achieve massive box office success, pushing him further away from big-budget productions. Over the last decade, he’s mainly appeared in indie films or played supporting roles in the works of top-tier directors like Wes Anderson and Rian Johnson.

If Norton were a mediocre actor or one better suited to supporting roles, his career might be considered successful. But Norton is a natural lead actor, with the charisma and talent to carry a major film. His inherent dramatic flair makes him a perfect canvas for any film.

An actor like Norton should have become the Robert De Niro or Dustin Hoffman of his generation. Instead, his peak came and went too quickly, leaving us wondering what exactly happened to him.

In the film industry, there's a common saying about actors bringing "money to the set," meaning they secure leading roles by leveraging their investments or connections with investors. But here, we could coin a new phrase: "bringing scripts to the set," referring to actors who love to meddle with the script, insisting on having everything rewritten to their liking.

Edward Norton, a well-known "perfectionist," is Hollywood's king of script rewrites. One of his breakout films, American History X, earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor. However, if the Academy had been more observant, they might have also nominated him for Best Screenplay and Best Editing.

Norton worked closely with director Tony Kaye to rewrite much of the film’s dialogue. Kaye didn’t mind it too much, considering it was his first film, and Norton was already a rising star.

After the film finished shooting, Kaye presented a 95-minute cut, which received a decent response at test screenings. But neither the studio (New Line Cinema) nor Norton was satisfied. They drafted a lengthy list of suggested changes for Kaye. Unsurprisingly, Kaye was not happy. He felt that as the director, he should have the final say.

Unfortunately, New Line’s executives didn’t agree. Norton, along with an assistant editor, was brought in to re-edit the film. You can imagine the tension in the editing room. The disagreements escalated to the point where Kaye punched a wall in frustration, requiring several stitches.

In the end, the "Edward Norton Cut" was released, running 18 minutes longer than the director’s version. Predictably, these additional scenes mostly featured Norton himself.

Tony Kaye was furious, spending $100,000 of his own money on ads denouncing Norton and New Line Cinema and even filing a $200 million lawsuit against the studio. As expected, it was all for naught, and Kaye’s directing career nearly tanked.

Meanwhile, Norton’s fame skyrocketed thanks to the film, solidifying his reputation as a control freak. A few years later, while working on Red Dragon, he fell back into his old habits, arriving on set each day with his rewritten script, insisting that director Brett Ratner shoot each scene according to his version. Ratner later commented, not without a hint of sarcasm, "Ed Norton likes to challenge directors. His instincts tell him, 'I have to save this film! I have to take over!'"

Norton’s meddling didn’t stop there. On the set of Marvel’s The Incredible Hulk, he once again took on the role of impromptu script doctor, constantly tweaking the screenplay. While director Louis Leterrier didn’t seem to mind, the official screenwriter, Zak Penn, was less than thrilled—especially when Norton went to Comic-Con and claimed to have written the script. The Writers Guild of America eventually stepped in, affirming that Penn was the sole credited writer, and Norton didn’t deserve any writing credits.

But of course, Norton didn't care about the credit, he was just trying to "save the film." The result, however, was less than stellar: after this film, the Hulk was recast, with Mark Ruffalo taking over the role.

Whether or not Norton continued playing superheroes likely didn’t matter much to him. But what’s evident is that despite his talent and charisma, his body of work is surprisingly sparse. We have to think of the reason.

Norton also has a history of clashing with studios. After the success of Primal Fear, Norton signed a two-film deal with Paramount Pictures. However, Paramount tried to use this contract to block Norton from starring in Fight Club, which was being produced by 20th Century Fox. To satisfy all parties, Norton had to take on a role in the Paramount heist film The Italian Job, an experience he clearly disliked, leading to a permanent rift with Paramount.

Norton’s behavior on the set of The Incredible Hulk also ruffled many feathers. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige publicly criticized Norton’s egocentric tendencies, while Norton’s camp retorted that not playing the Hulk had little impact on the actor's fulfilling life.

Since 2008, Norton’s acting career has been relatively quiet. He has been part of ensemble casts in films like Birdman, The Grand Budapest Hotel, Moonrise Kingdom, and Asteroid City. He has ventured into independent productions with films like Stone and Leaves of Grass, though they received lukewarm reviews. As a perfectionist, he finally directed his debut feature, Motherless Brooklyn, in 2019, gathering a strong cast. Although it wasn’t a huge box office or critical success, it fulfilled a long-held dream of his.

At 55, Norton seems to have drifted further away from the high expectations we once had for him. But this isn’t just about his personality; it’s also a reflection of the changing dynamics of the film industry. The space for distinctive actors like Norton to truly shine has become increasingly limited. So, rather than dwelling on expectations from the past, we can still hope that Norton continues to act, giving us more opportunities to witness flashes of his extraordinary talent.