This page, as the title suggests, will be where I put random gems of information about Edward Norton. It isn't meant to be biographical - my short bio page on Edward is here. Instead, this will be a list of random tidbits and trivia that I've picked up from other fan sites, from entertainment news sources, and such. With Edward being such a private person, sometimes I might post stuff that I thought was true - and if there is anything on this list that's just outright wrong, feel free to let me know, and I'll remove it (or fix it if necessary). While trying to get his big break in New York City, Edward worked odd jobs to make ends meet, and to fill his time between auditions. He worked as a waiter, a proofreader, and a director's assistant (to try to get his foot in the door), among his many temporary positions. He had even tried to apply to be a New York City cab driver, but he was rejected for the license because he didn't meet the age requirement. He was raised in the planned community of Columbia, Maryland. The city was designed by Edward's maternal grandfather, the late James Rouse. Rouse also drew up the designs for the famed Faneuil Hall in Boston, among other architecture projects. Edward speaks fluent Japanese, which helped when he worked, briefly, for his grandfather's company, The Enterprise Foundation. He was assigned to the Osaka, Japan branch until he decided to quit the desk job grind (at his grandfather's suggestion) and try to break into acting in New York. Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, MD, where Edward graduated in 1987, built a new auditorium for the performing arts several years ago. He revisited his alma mater and gave a lecture on the day of its dedication. It is named for Edward's grandfather, James Rouse. Edward received a B.A. in history from Yale in 1991, but took many theatre and Japanese courses as an undergraduate. He has said in interviews that he took as many theatre courses as he could without being a theatre major. He treasures his private life and being able to live a normal life - and can't imagine not being able to take the New York subway if he gets too famous. Stuart Blumberg, Edward's friend from his Yale college days, wrote most of what was to become the basis for "Keeping the Faith." Edward starred, produced, and directed this year 2000 romantic comedy, but he also assisted Stuart in writing the original story. The theme song for "Keeping the Faith" - "Heart of Mine" by Peter Salett - was not written specifically for the film. Peter Salett is a good friend of Edward's. While he and Courtney Love were dating (around the time of filming for "The People Vs. Larry Flynt), Edward played guitar and sang with Courtney's band, Hole, for several gigs. He has wanted to play the poet Dylan Thomas for a long time, but feels he's not right for the part appearance-wise (this according to Yale's newspaper). While a precocious young actor, he asked a surprised director of a play, "what is my objective here?" The director was so startled by his interest in acting. His babysitter, Betsy True, went on to perform as Cossette in a Broadway version of Les Miserables. She was the one who originally got Edward interested in acting, taking him to see his first play ("If I Were A Princess") at age six. For his role in the film "Rounders," he played Lester "Worm" Murphy, a shady card-playing friend of Matt Damon's. The character of Worm originally called for him to be a chain-smoker but Edward, who doesn't smoke, refused to do it. Putting his foot down, the script was re-written to accommodate for this change. The movie actually has some funny scenes at the beginning when Edward's character is introduced into the story. Worm is so good at winning other inmates' cigarettes (the only thing they can use as their ante), but when he leaves jail, he throws out all the many cigarettes he's won during his time in jail. I think Edward has set a great example for children and his fellow actors for insisting that his character wouldn't smoke. Edward counts "The Graduate" (Dustin Hoffman's film debut), "Dr. Strangelove," and "A Clockwork Orange" (the film masterpiece by Stanley Kubrick) as some of his favorite movies. He considers David Fincher's "Fight Club" to be his best dramatic work. He is a board member of Edward Albee's Signature Company. For the role of reformed skinhead Derek Vinyard in "American History X" (for which he was nominated for best actor in the 1998 Oscars, being beaten by Roberto Benighi), he gained 30 pounds of muscle and shaved his head. Got an interesting tidbit about Edward Norton to share with others? Feel free to e-mail me at fabfan97@hotmail.com and tell me about it! littlewillow's tribute to Edward Norton since 05/18/00

the many faces of Edward Norton Photos on this page culled from The Unofficial Website