The Real Edward Norton Revealed

Erin Moriarty Profiles 'Man Of Many Faces'

(CBS)  Shooting in China provided an absolutely breathtaking backdrop for the film, Moriarty notes, but presented problems for Norton and his director, John Curran, that neither anticipated.

"I never, ever would've thought that I would find myself negotiating with a foreign government's censorship board over the content of an American film," Norton told Moriarty, "and I don't expect to have the experience again. So, at times, I wanted to tear my hair out."

Norton says the problems didn't involved things such as sex scenes. Rather, Beijing wanted to remove any scenes of public unrest that might remind audiences of more recent events, such as the 1989 Tiananmen Square protest, which was crushed by the Chinese army.

"It was a process that was not without its tensions," Norton concedes.

Asked if he and Curran had to give up any scenes they really wanted to include, Norton replied, "No. We wouldn't. We didn't."

Norton is the grandson of Jim Rouse, one of the most influential urban planners and developers in the Northeast. Rouse helped revitalize urban areas such as Faneuil Hall in Boston and Harbor Place in Baltimore.

"Was there pressure when you were growing up to go into the family business?" Moriarty wondered.

"No, not in the slightest," Norton answered. … "My grandfather and my parents are great aficionados of the arts."

Still, it wasn't his family, but a babysitter — an actress herself who appeared on Broadway — who introduced Norton to the theater.

"My babysitter took me down and signed me up for classes when I was five or six," at the local dramatic arts school, Norton says.

Norton attended Yale University, where he majored in history.

At 37, Norton has appeared in more than 20 movies and documentaries, produced and directed films, and even wrote the screenplay for the movie "Frida," starring his former girlfriend, Salma Hayek.

But there is one passion he continues to share with his famous grandfather: a commitment to his hometown.

The screening where Moriarty caught up with Norton in Baltimore last weekend was a benefit he hosted to raise money for the hospitals in his old neighborhood.

"It's not so incredible that I'm doing it," Norton insists. "It would be more incredible if I wasn't doing it. It's be pathetic. When you get in trouble, like, you're not gonna call me because you like my movies. You know, you're gonna call one of these great doctors. And they're gonna get you through the really, really critical times of your life."

It was his eighth benefit at that theater, further proof, says Moriarty, that the real Edward Norton bears little resemblance to the angry men he plays on-screen.

"As an actor, he appears as this very serious person. But he's one of the funniest people you would ever want to meet," says a local.

In fact — dare we say it? — Norton actually seems like a happy guy, who can do exactly what he wants — and always come home again.

[godseyesore-2009]

From his first film (Primal Fear) I've always found him to be an extraordinary actor with consumante skill. I wish we could see more of him.