Edward Norton is a shape-shifter.
Anyone who’s followed his career — from “Fight Club” adrenaline junkie to reformed skinhead in “American History X” to two- faced murder suspect in “Primal Fear” to tortured green monster in “The Incredible Hulk” — knows he’s hard to pigeonhole.
And that’s fine with Norton.
“I’ve always thought there are two kinds of performers, and I think this extends beyond actors,” he says. “There are musicians this applies to, there are directors this applies to.
“Some people fall in the category I would call iconic. They channel what they channel through a very limited spectrum. Harrison Ford’s a great actor, but he’s a very iconic actor. We kind of return to him again and again for a certain set of qualities he embodies for us,” he says.
“And then there’s other people that don’t function that way, they’re better as shape-shifters. Steven Soderbergh is an incredible shape- shifting director, while Bruce Springsteen is incredibly iconic,” says Norton.
“I definitely feel like for me it’s more about shifting it up.”
Norton’s latest shift is on display this weekend as he plays the title character in “Stone.”
He plays a convict who’s desperate to get out of prison, with Robert De Niro as the parole officer who’ll decide Stone’s fate. With Milla Jovovich as Stone’s girlfriend, it’s a tense, erotic and oddly spiritual film, and definitely an actors showcase.
Now 41, this was the second time Norton had worked with the famously intense De Niro and he says understanding De Niro’s process made things easier.
“I understand things about the way he works that can be unsettling the first time,” Norton says.
“Bob doesn’t talk about things a lot, and he doesn’t necessarily let you in on an idea of where he’s trying to go.”
