Is Edward Norton a 3-trick pony?

[JohnnySic]

The beginning of his career was about as epic a start as it gets - Primal Fear, Rounders, American History X, Fight Club. 25th Hour is an underrated gem. 5-10 years ago, this guy was being hailed as the new De Niro. That didn't last long.

[LJJ]

I never thought much of him. He can play a "normal dude" role and make that believable, even as the protagonist. Good protagonist type guy. But he's not someone who can make a role truly memorable and keep it believable. He doesn't have shit one someone like DiCaprio, and it's not like DiCaprio is the best himself.

Take Fight Club for instance. If Norton and Pitt changed roles; Pitt probably would have come out okay, but Norton would have looked like an idiot.

[DeuceWallaces]

Are those 4 movies really about as epic as it gets? But I agree with the general premise.

[SinJackal]

I thought he was great in The Illusionist. That movie was far better than I thought it'd be. Paul Giamatti was great in that too. Underrated actor, who's unfairly too well-known as "pig vomit" from that Howard Stern movie.


As for actors being a 3-trick pony. . .really, if he can act 3 different types of roles, isn't that well above the current standards of today's actors? The average types of roles actors can play now seems to be like 1 1/2.

Too many guys can only do one role. Some can pull off two. Three or more is rare.

And I'd argue DeNiro seems like the same character in almost every movie. Especially lately. He just changes his level of aggressiveness in the roles. Other than that, he acts exactly the same.

[Thorpesaurous]

I thought he was great in The Illusionist. That movie was far better than I thought it'd be. Paul Giamatti was great in that too. Underrated actor, who's unfairly too well-known as "pig vomit" from that Howard Stern movie.


As for actors being a 3-trick pony. . .really, if he can act 3 different types of roles, isn't that well above the current standards of today's actors? The average types of roles actors can play now seems to be like 1 1/2.

Too many guys can only do one role. Some can pull off two. Three or more is rare.

And I'd argue DeNiro seems like the same character in almost every movie. Especially lately. He just changes his level of aggressiveness in the roles. Other than that, he acts exactly the same.


That's because DeNiro has become so iconic, that he really only plays DeNiro at this point. Pacino is even worse.

I like Norton. He's done the shady characters like Rounders in supporting roles. Was a lead in stuff like Hannible. I vaguely recall him even pulling off the romantic lead a time or two. He's been both likeable and unlikeable. He's done a lot of stuff. He may not have gotten the opportunities of a Leo, but he's certainly more well rounded than the other guys of his generation.

[JohnnySic]

Are those 4 movies really about as epic as it gets?
The movies themselves, no. But for one actor to start his career with 4 great movies like that - pretty darn good.

[SinJackal]

That's because DeNiro has become so iconic, that he really only plays DeNiro at this point. Pacino is even worse.

I like Norton. He's done the shady characters like Rounders in supporting roles. Was a lead in stuff like Hannible. I vaguely recall him even pulling off the romantic lead a time or two. He's been both likeable and unlikeable. He's done a lot of stuff. He may not have gotten the opportunities of a Leo, but he's certainly more well rounded than the other guys of his generation.

It could be called iconic I guess. . .but it's still sort of one-dimensional. Denzel always plays the same guy too. Lot of guys do. . .Mathiew Machanuhey, hwoever it's spelled, has only one role as well (except he did have a somewhat different role in that movie about dragons, which was surprising).

I just think it's unfair to knock a guy for "only" being able to play 3 types of characters. That's certainly more than most actors, including several the A-list ones. 3's pretty good.

[ALBballer]

I think he's a great actor, but he hasn't had the opportunities to show them off lately.

I thought he did great in roles like "Death to Smoochey" or "Painted Veil."

[Premeditated]

I don't get this thread. isn't it a good thing? there are too many "critically acclaim" actors today who don't range at all. Norton has it. I don't give a fukk what you all say.

[dkmwise]

Wow, I can;t belive some of these comments. To say Norton can't make a role memorable is crazy. Derrick Vinyard from AMX is one of the most powerful and memorable roles ever. And then Norton goes from playing a ripped tough guy skinhead in AHX to playing a little wimpy dude in Rounders. And his 'duel personality' roles in Primal Fear and The Score are characters that no one else could have pulled off as well as he did. He brought back the Incredible Hulk after Eric Bana ruined it.

And he's had big roles in a lot of big movies:

Primal Fear
American History X
The People vs. Larry Flint (under rated)
Rounders
Fight Club
The Score
Red Dragon
25th Hour
The Italian Job
Kingdon of Heaven (i've actually not seen, but have seen good reviews for him in it)
The Illusionist
The Incredible Hulk
Pride and Glory
Stone (coming in 2010: Again working with Deniro)

Thats at least 12 great roles. Some of them have been similar but some of them very different

[jbot]

i really liked him in The Score.

[JohnnySic]

Primal Fear
American History X
The People vs. Larry Flint (under rated)
Rounders
Fight Club
The Score
Red Dragon
25th Hour
The Italian Job
Kingdon of Heaven (i've actually not seen, but have seen good reviews for him in it)
The Illusionist
The Incredible Hulk
Pride and Glory
Stone (coming in 2010: Again working with Deniro)

Not all of those roles were great - some were "by the numbers". In particular, The Score and The Italian Job were lousy movies and Norton didn't do much to help matters. The Illusionist wasn't much better.

Anyway, this thread isn't a critique of his acting chops, more a note on how he's faded quite a bit from his very early peak.

[macmac]

It could be called iconic I guess. . .but it's still sort of one-dimensional. Denzel always plays the same guy too. Lot of guys do. . .Mathiew Machanuhey, hwoever it's spelled, has only one role as well (except he did have a somewhat different role in that movie about dragons, which was surprising).



What are you babbling on about?

Deniro is an old man now, but take his full of body of work, this guy is as versatile as they come...have you seen Taxi Driver? Raging Bull? Brazil? Cape Fear? Jackie Brown?

And Denzel, once again you're out to lunch. He might play the hardened, alpha male types, but there's still a lot of nuance between roles which makes him the academy award winning actor that he is.

Then you have the nerve to include Matthew friggin mcconaughey in the conversation...

Stick to Anime and mirror poses, kiddo

[Riddler]

http://www.flicksandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ed-norton-stone.jpg



His new movie Stone will get him back in the game.

[LJJ]

Wow, I can;t belive some of these comments. To say Norton can't make a role memorable is crazy. Derrick Vinyard from AMX is one of the most powerful and memorable roles ever. And then Norton goes from playing a ripped tough guy skinhead in AHX to playing a little wimpy dude in Rounders. And his 'duel personality' roles in Primal Fear and The Score are characters that no one else could have pulled off as well as he did. He brought back the Incredible Hulk after Eric Bana ruined it.

And he's had big roles in a lot of big movies:

Primal Fear
American History X
The People vs. Larry Flint (under rated)
Rounders
Fight Club
The Score
Red Dragon
25th Hour
The Italian Job
Kingdon of Heaven (i've actually not seen, but have seen good reviews for him in it)
The Illusionist
The Incredible Hulk
Pride and Glory
Stone (coming in 2010: Again working with Deniro)

Thats at least 12 great roles. Some of them have been similar but some of them very different

The majority of those movies are pretty damn mediocre, I don't see how you can call 12 of those great roles.

The only ones you could really argue for are:
-Fight Club (let's be honest here, Norton gets wiped of the screen by Pitt in this)
-Primal Fear (Good performance up until his characters starts showing the "crazy side", after which his credibility goes out the window)
-American History X (too sentimental and preachy for my tastes, the movie I mean)
-25th hour

That's four and that's being pretty generous.

[VishaltotheG]

http://www.flicksandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ed-norton-stone.jpg



His new movie Stone will get him back in the game.

looks like

http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/brad_miller.jpg

[dkmwise]

Not all of those roles were great - some were "by the numbers". In particular, The Score and The Italian Job were lousy movies and Norton didn't do much to help matters. The Illusionist wasn't much better.

Anyway, this thread isn't a critique of his acting chops, more a note on how he's faded quite a bit from his very early peak.

I realize they are not all legendary movies, but they are all fairly big movies. But even a movie like the score which wasn't great, I though Norton was great in it. The Italian Job wasn't anything all that inspiring, not bad but not great.

I realize the thread was more inteded to point out that his biggest and best roles were at the begining of his career. I was more responding to some people who posted here saying that Norton can't pull off a big role and hasn't been in anything to speak of. I would say his resume rivals any actor around the same age as him.

[dkmwise]

looks like

http://www.slamonline.com/online/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/brad_miller.jpg

Thats awsome

[dkmwise]

The majority of those movies are pretty damn mediocre, I don't see how you can call 12 of those great roles.

The only ones you could really argue for are:
-Fight Club (let's be honest here, Norton gets wiped of the screen by Pitt in this)
-Primal Fear (Good performance up until his characters starts showing the "crazy side", after which his credibility goes out the window)
-American History X (too sentimental and preachy for my tastes, the movie I mean)
-25th hour

That's four and that's being pretty generous.

Even if you don't like him or like the movie, how can you argue he didn't do a great job in American History X and Primal Fear? Between just those 2 movies he was nominated for 19 awards and won 10 of them.

I can't stand Leonardo Dicaprio and don;t like most of his movies, but I can still acknowledge he is a great actor and plays great roles.

People Vs Larry Flint is great movie and great acting. Same with Rounders and Red Dragon. I'm actually not a big fan of Fight Club.

[Legend of Josh]

Edward Norton is one of my favorite actors. Way up there. I don't really even rate/rank that much either. You can't deny dude is a beast when he's playing the right role. Hollywood has butchered him in some films... I don't blame Edward for his lackluster flicks of late, I blame Hollywood. All the creative douchbags in LA keep wasting talent on lukewarm gimmick flicks these days.

Be more original.

[Jackass18]

The majority of those movies are pretty damn mediocre, I don't see how you can call 12 of those great roles.

The only ones you could really argue for are:
-Fight Club (let's be honest here, Norton gets wiped of the screen by Pitt in this)
-Primal Fear (Good performance up until his characters starts showing the "crazy side", after which his credibility goes out the window)
-American History X (too sentimental and preachy for my tastes, the movie I mean)
-25th hour

That's four and that's being pretty generous.

You're being very, very harsh and yet you're calling that "generous"? GTFO. The guy is incredibly gifted and versatile. He pretty much knocks every role out of the park (that I've seen). He's easily one of the top actors of this generation. He just hasn't been in any big movies lately outside of The Incredible Hulk.

[Jackass18]

Norton >>> Rockwell is the correct equation

[Jackass18]

Anyway, this thread isn't a critique of his acting chops, more a note on how he's faded quite a bit from his very early peak.

Well, then you should have been more clear. I can't really disagree here. He has faded a bit. He hasn't done many standout type roles lately.

[heyhey]

Rockwell > Norton

did this need to be stated?

Norton is not an elite actor but he is very smart about the projects that he gets involved with which elevates people's opinion of him because he's often in smart/edgy films.

[Myth]

Primal Fear
American History X
The People vs. Larry Flint
Rounders
Fight Club
The Score
Red Dragon
25th Hour
The Italian Job
Kingdon of Heaven
Down in the Valley
The Illusionist
The Incredible Hulk
Pride and Glory
Stone

I've seen all of the unbolded movies above, and I can't think of one movie where I didn't like him. Not all of those movies were masterpieces or anything, but in several of them he was the only thing that made the movie watchable. Down in the Valley, for example was only an ok movie, but without Norton, that movie would have been trash. Likewise with the Score. Norton stood out more than DeNiro in The Score. Its tough to knock on a guy who upstages DeNiro in a film.

[Patrick Chewing]

He was great in The Painted Veil

[Stuckey]

norton > dicaprio

[Scoooter]

Hulk was much better than The Incredible Hulk. Norton's a very good actor though.

[SinJackal]

What are you babbling on about?

Deniro is an old man now, but take his full of body of work, this guy is as versatile as they come...have you seen Taxi Driver? Raging Bull? Brazil? Cape Fear? Jackie Brown?

And Denzel, once again you're out to lunch. He might play the hardened, alpha male types, but there's still a lot of nuance between roles which makes him the academy award winning actor that he is.

Then you have the nerve to include Matthew friggin mcconaughey in the conversation...

Stick to Anime and mirror poses, kiddo

You're obviously angry that I called out your favorite actors for being type-cast actors now. Which is fine. The truth hurts, I'm sure, but don't pretend I said shit that I didn't.

I said his roles were one-dimensional lately. Nowhere did I say his older roles were all acted the same. Stick to reading pop-up books, because your reading comprehension is clearly that of a child.

[SinJackal]

http://www.flicksandbits.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/ed-norton-stone.jpg



His new movie Stone will get him back in the game.

He sort of looks like Kenny Powers in season 2 of Eastbound and Down. Same exact facial hair and regular hair style. Except Kenny trimmed his sideburns.

http://jritchie.files.wordpress.com/2010/12/kenny-corn-rows.jpg

[Myth]

Hulk was much better than The Incredible Hulk. Norton's a very good actor though.

http://forum.grasscity.com/photopost/data/500/NotSureIfSerious.jpg

[DCL]

don't know what you're talking about but i can envision norton in many roles. he can be a total douchebag that you root against or a sorry mofo you sympathize for. he can be a gay or straight man. a pos lowlife or a caring father. a drug dealer or a tax accountant. dude's got some range. the hell do you need him to take a role in.... an indian or chinese dude??? :oldlol:

[Pinkhearts]

You know what Norton's problem is? It's obvious.

He isn't good looking enough.

Thus so he definitely wouldn't be given many lead roles in big movies. Those are the best movies people will watch where he can fully utilize his talents. Seriously do you see directors casting Norton in blockbusters? Maybe he can try an artsy indie film or something.

He does well in the limited roles he gets due to his looks. He isn't gonna be casted in Pitt's role in Fight Club since he has no looks for it. There is no way he can draw as big an audience as Pitt can in Benjamin Button even though he might be able to play the role better. He isn't good looking enough to be given the Howard Hughes role too which many guys can do a better job at as well as the Inception role.

[kNIOKAS]

You know what Norton's problem is? It's obvious.

He isn't good looking enough.

Thus so he definitely wouldn't be given many lead roles in big movies. Those are the best movies people will watch where he can fully utilize his talents. Seriously do you see directors casting Norton in blockbusters? Maybe he can try an artsy indie film or something.

He does well in the limited roles he gets due to his looks. He isn't gonna be casted in Pitt's role in Fight Club since he has no looks for it. There is no way he can draw as big an audience as Pitt can in Benjamin Button even though he might be able to play the role better. He isn't good looking enough to be given the Howard Hughes role too which many guys can do a better job at as well as the Inception role.
no wonder why your username is pinkhearts...

i think that guy is fine. what's the movie with him as a psychocowboy? kidnapping kid... don't recall

[LJJ]

Even if you don't like him or like the movie, how can you argue he didn't do a great job in American History X and Primal Fear? Between just those 2 movies he was nominated for 19 awards and won 10 of them.

I can't stand Leonardo Dicaprio and don;t like most of his movies, but I can still acknowledge he is a great actor and plays great roles.

People Vs Larry Flint is great movie and great acting. Same with Rounders and Red Dragon. I'm actually not a big fan of Fight Club.

I posted that you could argue AHX and Primal Fear as great roles. Those other movies you listed here are the epitome of mediocre.

Awards don't mean shit to me. The most prestigious movie awards are the Oscars. The same Oscars where Al Pacino has to wait until Scent of a Woman to have one. Gary O hasn't even been nominated once and filmmakers like Leone and Kubrick don't have one either. Movie awards are wack. Almost as bad as the Grammy's.



You're being very, very harsh and yet you're calling that "generous"? GTFO. The guy is incredibly gifted and versatile. He pretty much knocks every role out of the park (that I've seen). He's easily one of the top actors of this generation. He just hasn't been in any big movies lately outside of The Incredible Hulk.

Please, we are talking great roles here. Maybe my definition of great is a bit more selective than yours, but a bland movie like Rounders should not be making the cut by any measuring stick. If that qualifies as a great role than at what point do you stop.

[enayes]

the Illusionist was a great movie.

[Lebron23]

I would love to see him in a Chris Nolan Movie. I actually like him in the Incredible Hulk Movie. He was a realistic Bruce Banner.

[Patrick Chewing]

the Illusionist was a great movie.

The Prestige > The Illusionist

[JustinJDW]

http://pinartarhan.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/new-pride-and-glory-poster1.jpg

I thought it was very good. Edward Norton? Collin Farrell? Join Voight?. :confusedshrug:

[Jackass18]

Please, we are talking great roles here. Maybe my definition of great is a bit more selective than yours, but a bland movie like Rounders should not be making the cut by any measuring stick. If that qualifies as a great role than at what point do you stop.

Well, we aren't going to see eye-to-eye on this. I don't think it's a bland movie at all and I think he was awesome in that role. He did great as a slimy, wormy character. I think that role is really rather underrated. It's just not a big time role that was going to grab a lot of attention, and the character wasn't really likable. More selective? Hard to say. I might not agree with a lot of roles you think are great.

[Lebron23]

He was pretty good in Kingdom of Heaven where he played a Leper King. He should have won an academy award for Primal Fear and American History X. It sucks that the Academy Award only reward veteran actors, or the flavor of the month.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWPKGlIpgro

His most underrated role.


PS:

Mark Ruffalo is the better Bruce Banner.

[Nick Young]

He played a cheesy romantic lead in the Woody Allen musical Everyone Says I Love You and pulled it off really well

pretty well rounded actor if you ask me.

[NuggetsFan]

-Fight Club (let's be honest here, Norton gets wiped of the screen by Pitt in this)


I don't know how popular of an opinion this is but I thought Norton was amazing in Fight Club. Dunno if I'm biased because it could make a case for my favorite movie of All-Time but at the start of the movie when he plays this drained, complete lost dude who can't sleep I thought he nailed it. Brad Pitt steals the show, but thought Norton killed it as well.

Anyways Edward Norton at one point was probably my favorite actor. Might not be the best or move versatile but American History X/Fight Club/25th hour were all amazing to me. Two of those being All-Time favorites. He was good in Pride of Glory, Rounders as well. When you think about it he does play some different roles, certainly isn't one sided to the point where you point it out.

[HardwoodLegend]

Brad Pitt didn't really outact or wipe Norton off the screen in 'Fight Club'. His character was simply more exciting and interesting. It reminds me of when some people were saying Viola Davis outacted Meryl Streep in 'Doubt' when she didn't. Pitt & Norton and Davis & Streep were on par with each other in how well they presented the characters. The one with the more dynamic character simply gets more attention and memorability.

[johndeeregreen]

Just popped in to concur that 25th Hour is a great movie. Probably my favorite Ed Norton role.

As for him as an actor in general, no complaints from me. Better than most of his generation.

[sundizz]

The majority of those movies are pretty damn mediocre, I don't see how you can call 12 of those great roles.

The only ones you could really argue for are:
-Fight Club (let's be honest here, Norton gets wiped of the screen by Pitt in this)
-Primal Fear (Good performance up until his characters starts showing the "crazy side", after which his credibility goes out the window)
-American History X (too sentimental and preachy for my tastes, the movie I mean)
-25th hour

That's four and that's being pretty generous.

The Score is awesome. It's a HELLLLLAAA good movie. His acting is on point. I def thought he went full-retard

[gigantes]

i've never seen edward norton be anything less than fascinating, regardless of the strength of the movie. never.

i'm sure he's not for everyone... that's okay. but there is no question in my mind that he's a very good actor who can play lots of different roles. some personal faves: painted veil, the illusionist, primal fear.

also, there would have been no point if he had upstaged brad pitt in fight club. the whole idea of his character was that of repression and playing it safe. to criticise him for being mundane in that movie is silly, IMO.

[KevinNYC]

Paul Giamatti was great in that too. Underrated actor, who's unfairly too well-known as "pig vomit" from that Howard Stern movie.

I feel really sorry for folks who only know Paul Giamatti as Pig Vomit.

I mean he did play Ritchie, the love-struck, hockey-loving, video editor in 30 Rock
http://crasstalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ritchie.jpg

[gigantes]

also, i never before saw a guy running down a hill with a bottle of wine trying to get drunk at the same time.

[ZeN]

also, i never before saw a guy running down a hill with a bottle of wine trying to get drunk at the same time.
Sideways is so f*cking underrated.

[Myth]

Great movies:
Primal Fear
American History X
Fight Club

Good or mediocre movies:
Rounders
Keeping the Faith
The Score (Norton does great, the movie is just decent)
25th Hour (Norton does great though)
Red Dragon
Death to Smoochy (Norton awesome again, underrated movie)
Italian Job
Down in the Valley
The Illusionist
The Incredible Hulk
Bourn Legacy (closest one to making my "bad" list)
Leaves of Grass
Moonrise Kingdom

Bad movies:


I haven't seen his other movies entirely. A few gems and no bombs as far as I can see. It has been a while since he has been in a great movie though, so the OP isn't too far off.

[JohnnySic]

Yay for bumping my long-dead thread. :D

[JohnnySic]

He was pretty good in Kingdom of Heaven where he played a Leper King.
Agreed. I saw Kingdom of Heaven some time after I made this thread. I had no idea that was Norton behind the mask. I thought "this actor has presence" without wondering who it was.

[COnDEMnED]

I feel really sorry for folks who only know Paul Giamatti as Pig Vomit.

I mean he did play Ritchie, the love-struck, hockey-loving, video editor in 30 Rock
http://crasstalk.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/ritchie.jpg
People are going to know who he is if they don't already, he's playing a badass villain in the next Amazing-Spiderman movie... I introduce the many faces of Paul Giamatti as....Rhino

http://screencrush.com/many-faces-of-paul-giamatti-as-rhino/

[magic chiongson]

one of my favorite actors of all time :no:

[Hoodlum Science]

I don't care what anyone says, Edward Norton is one of the best in Hollywood, and IMO, the most underrated in the industry. Dude doesn't receive nearly enough credit for the caliber of talent the guy truly is.

[KevinNYC]

also, i never before saw a guy running down a hill with a bottle of wine trying to get drunk at the same time.

Also his dad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Bartlett_Giamatti)kicked Pete Rose out of baseball.

[gigantes]

Also his dad (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A._Bartlett_Giamatti)kicked Pete Rose out of baseball.
and suffered a massive fatal heart attack just a few days later at age 51. stress and smoking are cold-blooded killers. :(

[no pun intended]

Although Ruffalo did an above average job filling in the shoes of the previous Hulk, I am still bitter Norton wasn't casted in the The Avengers.

[JohnnySic]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Gg9HpcJa0AAGM2-?format=jpg&name=small

[ArbitraryWater]

The problem is they just dont make as many epic movies anymore as then, I think.

[Chick Stern]

The People Vs. Larry Flynt is a great and important movie about being an American.
Pretty much every movie Milos Foreman makes is great.

[John8204]

The guy really has hit it out of the park with his last three non-Wes Anderson films. (A Complete Unknown, Knives Out, and Motherless Brooklyn)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fru8IkuDp_k

At first you think you're watching an SNL sketch and then it just sucks you in.