Who

An actor's actor, Norton's known for playing the disturbed, tortured, and homicidal on screen. A political liberal and environmental activist, he's much less menacing in real life.

Backstory

Born in Boston and raised in Maryland, Norton attended Yale and lived in Japan for a spell before moving to the city to pursue a career as an actor. He appeared in a number of off-off-Broadway productions before landing his big break, 1996's Primal Fear, in which he played a murderous, multiple personality disorder-afflicted altar boy alongside Richard Gere and earned an Oscar nom for Best Supporting Actor. Norton continued along a rather dark path in the late 1990s, playing tortured average joes-turned-brutes in American History X and the David Fincher-directed Fight Club. In 2001 he lightened things up considerably with his directorial debut, the airy rom-com Keeping the Faith, about a love triangle involving a priest (Norton), a rabbi (Ben Stiller), and an idiot (Jenna Elfman). And he proved nearly inescapable in 2002, starring in four films, including Spike Lee's critically-lauded 25th Hour and Brett Ratner's not-so-acclaimed Red Dragon.

Not nearly as ubiquitous now as he was in the Fight Club era, his most recent role was alongside the romantic team of Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber in 2006's well-received The Painted Veil. But he's poised for something of a renaissance. He played the Incredible Hulk (Bruce Banner) in the summer 2008 flick of the same name with Liv Tyler appearing as his love interest. He'll also adapt, direct, and star in the film version of Jonathan Lethem's Motherless Brooklyn.

Of note

Norton takes his acting career seriously—he's not the sort to pop up in the pages of Us Weekly canoodling in the back of a club with the starlet du jour. His tendency to take on more serious roles—and his general aversion to the glare of the media spotlight—has made him less of a box office draw, which is why he pulls in roughly $6 million a film as opposed to the $20 million or more commanded by higher-profile leading men. But Norton's snobby taste has done wonders for other people's careers: He turned down three parts Matt Damon later picked up, including the title character in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan.

Pet causes

A rare Hollywood liberal who's not all talk, Norton donated over $50,000 to various Democratic candidates in the 2004 election cycle and made frequent appearances on the campaign trail. His political efforts in 2006 may not have been the best use of his time in retrospect: He aggressively campaigned for Eliot Spitzer, headlined several fundraisers, traveled on his campaign bus, and served on his transition team after he got elected. Norton's production company, Class 5 Films, is currently at work on a documentary about Barack Obama. He's also focused on environmental issues, which have long been a passion for Norton. In 2003 he sponsored an initiative to install solar panels in low-income homes in LA, and he also does work for an eco-conservation project in China founded by his dad, in conjunction with the Nature Conservancy.

Personal

Norton is dating producer Shauna Robertson. In the past, he's dated costars Drew Barrymore (whom he met on the set of Woody Allen's 1996 film, Everyone Says I Love You), Salma Hayek (whom he starred opposite in Frida and dated for nearly four years), and cuckoo-crazy Courtney Love. Norton splits his time between the East Village and Los Angeles.

Toys

A certified single-engine pilot, Norton owns a tiny Cessna, which he keeps in California.