As an actor, I don't have any politics. As an actor, I'm driven more by an authentic - I would say an obsessive-compulsive-disorder level-fixation on mimicry, tonality of voice, to literally imitate something until I can just disappear into it. Edward Norton More Quotes by Edward Norton More Quotes From Edward Norton The best films of any kind, narrative or documentary, provoke questions. Edward Norton documentaries narrative kind The more you do your homework, the more you're free to be intuitive. But you've got to put the work in. Edward Norton acting motivational inspirational At this point in my life I'm not bent on proving anything, really. Edward Norton bent prove It's better for people to miss you than to have seen too much of you. Edward Norton too-much missing-you people It must be good to be in Germany and France, because I have completely forgotten what it is like to be proud of your government. Edward Norton germany proud government Life, like poker has an element of risk. It shouldn't be avoided. It should be faced. Edward Norton elements risk should Sometimes we don't see certain things until we're ready to see them in a certain way. Edward Norton vision dream way I tend to relate to a character in terms of the arc: what's interesting is where he starts versus where he ends up. Edward Norton ends character interesting All people are paradoxical. No one is easily reducible, so I like characters who have contradictory impulses or shades of ambiguity. It's fun, and it's fun because it's hard. Edward Norton fun character people When people come together too young, they try to become one person. As you get older, you realize that you don't want to become one person because then you lose the person you are. Edward Norton together trying people I don't have anything to prove to anybody, which is a lovely place to be. Edward Norton lovely prove There are so many people who are conscientious and caring about others. I've spent time working in countries where I really noticed the absence of civic concern, care for other people. I've been in other countries where I feel a palpable, almost tooth-and-claw attitude between people - Machiavellian, me and mine. And you can take for granted being here, with all the bloviating and the media, on a day-to-day level, people in this country are really pretty concerned for each other. Edward Norton caring attitude country I've always thought of acting as more of an exercise in empathy, which is not to be confused with sympathy. You're trying to get inside a certain emotional reality or motivational reality and try to figure out what that's about so you can represent it. Edward Norton confused exercise reality I think that the environmental movement is wisely moving away from a largely emotion-based argument for the spiritual or intrinsic value of Nature with a capital "N" and evolving toward a very hard-nosed case for the economic value of natural capital, ecosystem services, biodiversity, etc. Edward Norton spiritual moving thinking I'm fascinated by the ways in which people express themselves, because their responses are often counter to what they're actually feeling. Like when they're frightened, they tend to freeze. When they're angry, it doesn't always come out as volume. There are wonderful contradictions in the way that people express their emotions. Edward Norton feelings people way Instead of telling the world what you're eating for breakfast, you can use social networking to do something that's meaningful. Edward Norton use meaningful world I never think that a film should answer questions for you. I think it should make you ask a lot of questions. Edward Norton film answers thinking Sometimes creativity is a compulsion, not an ambition. Edward Norton creativity ambition sometimes I almost forgot what it's like to be proud of my government. Edward Norton be-proud proud government I like it when the deeper you go with the character, the more you see the layers start to peel away. Edward Norton layers deeper character
