His first and very lucky break was playing the role of Aaron Stampler in Primal Fear which was supposed to be played by Leonardo DiCaprio who turned down the role. He got the role and made the movie about a young boy who is accused of murdering an Arch Bishop, and claims he suffers from skitsophrenia(split personality). He mastered the role and was the main reason that movie was so good. He then got many offers for different movies.
He then played a lawyer in a film with Drew Barrymore called "Everyone Says I Love You. Soon after he played a lawyer again in the film The People Vs. Larry Flynt. Then his grandfather passed away and a year later his mother also passed away. Right after this he was offered to play a nazi in American History X. He was in a lot of pain and under much emotional stress but still managed to blow everyone away with his unforgetable performance as Derek Vinyard, a hard headed nazi who his sent to jail for murdering 2 men. Edward Norton was given an Oscar Nomination for this role. He unfortunatly didn`t win.
After this he stared along with Brad Pitt in the violent yet interesting movie called Fight Club. His performance in this is also one I will not forget. He played a man who begins having chronic insomnia and slowly goes insane and creates a "fight club" where men join together and beat eachother up for a thrill. Then came his most recent movie which he did not only star in, but directed and produced as well. Keeping The Faith is a story of a Rabbi(Ben Stiller) and a Catholic Priest(Edward Norton) who are both in love with the same woman but held back because of their religious beliefs and values. Edward Norton is presently working on more projects and doing great. He is truley one of the most talented actors ever. I wish him much more success in his career.
