Edward Norton

Smart and uncompromising, Edward Norton has a career that has taken in modern cult classics, Oscar nominations and some much-publicised creative differences. But as he releases Motherless Brooklyn - his self-penned, self-directed noir - the zen New Yorker tells Total Film that something good comes out everything…

- Jane Crowther

Edward Norton is famously known to not suffer fools gladly. His media profile over the years has been, by turns, one of a meddling actor locking directors out of the edit suite (American History X), a contrarian who couldn’t play nicely with Marvel (The Incredible Hulk) and a snob who refused to promote a film he’d been forced legally to make (The Italian Job). But as we all know, the clickbait headlines aren’t necessarily the whole story.

When Total Film meets the New Yorker in London’s Soho Hotel in July, we’re braced for possible spikiness, but find Norton a warm, twinkly eyed realist who proffers a crushing handshake and laughs freely while musing on his many career triumphs and tribulations. Dressed in an unremarkable denim shirt and navy slacks, his still-boyish features make him appear far younger than his 50 years and though he’s erudite and self-aware, his absent-minded pushing of the coffee table backwards and forwards between us with his feet suggests a certain nervous energy. It’s perhaps no surprise he’s feeling antsy– his latest film is directed and written by him (he also stars) and has taken 20 years to come to fruition.