(Photo by Ron Batzdorff/©Overture Films/Courtesy Everett Collectionn)

All Edward Norton Movies Ranked by Tomatometer

Primal Fear was notable for being a pretty crafty legal thriller and for introducing Edward Norton to the public sphere. Here was a 27-year-old no one’s ever heard of, going toe to toe with Richard Gere, still in the long afterglow of Pretty Woman, and coming out on top with Golden Globe and Oscar acting noms. That he was also in two Certified Fresh films (Everyone Says I Love You, The People Vs. Larry Flynt) the same year as Fear just about seals the deal for the most auspicious debut for an American actor.

The violent, intelligent, and complex performances in Best Actor-nominated American History X and Fight Club, made Norton, for better or worse, an icon of modern masculinity. Naturally, he followed it up with a rom-com: Keeping the Faith, also Norton’s directorial debut, and indicative of a filmmaker willing to power against expectation, behind and in front of the camera.

Norton then got to work with some heavyweights: Marlon Brando in his final film The Score, Robin Williams in Death to Smoochy, and Anthony Hopkins in Red Dragon. He infamously sneered through his contractually obligated role in The Italian Job, which only amplified the villain role.

Just a month after the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with Iron Man, Norton starred in The Incredible Hulk as Bruce Banner. He opted not to appear any further due to the multi-movie commitment required of the MCU, the role then going to Mark Ruffalo.

Norton struck a working partnership with Wes Anderson, who has been the source of most of his Certified Fresh movies in the past decade: Moonrise Kingdom, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and Isle of Dogs. His other Certified movies? Sausage Party, voicing Sammy Bagel Jr., and Birdman, where he satirizes his persnickety reputation, leading to this third acting Oscar nomination.

And Norton kept the faith on pulling double duty as actor and director – and writing the screenplay, too – with Motherless Brooklyn, released in 2019. And now, we’re looking back on all Edward Norton movies and ranking them by Tomatometer! —Alex Vo