'Birdman' Star Edward Norton: No Regrets Giving Up Hulk In ‘The Avengers’; Co-Star Michael Keaton To Win Oscar?

 

'Birdman' Star Edward Norton: No Regrets Giving Up Hulk In 'The Avengers'; Co-Star Michael Keaton To Win Oscar? 

"Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue Of Ignorance)" actor Edward Norton appears to have no regrets not reprising the role of Hulk in "The Avengers: Age Of Ultron."

In a recent interview with NPR, Norton said if he had continued on with the Hulk role, he would not have his roles in Wes Anderson's "Moonrise Kingdom" and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" and Alejandro González Iñárritu's "Birdman" because those all overlapped with "The Avengers."

"And those were more the priority for me, but I continue to be a fan and I'm really, really happy I got to do it once," Norton said.

Known for "American History X" and "Fight Club" opposite "Fury" star Brad Pitt, Norton plays a pretentious but very talented theater actor in "Birdman," which is about aging, ego and conflicting approaches to acting.

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"I had as much fun making 'Birdman' as I've ever had making a movie. I think it was one of the most creatively satisfying experiences I've had, and I think it's an incredibly audacious and very rare movie," he said of the black comedy.

In "Birdman," Michael Keaton plays a movie actor who had made a name for playing a superhero named Birdman. In real life, Keaton starred in the 1989 film "Batman" and the 1992 film "Batman Returns."

In an attempt to redeem his career, Keaton's character in "Birdman" directs a play that cast Norton's character, a condescending theater actor who looks down on superhero films and actors in them.

Ironically, Keaton is receiving outstanding reviews for his performance in "Birdman" and is a strong contender for an Academy Award, according to BBC.  

Also in the film are Zach Galifianakis, Emma Stone, Naomi Watts, Kenny Chin, Keenan Shimizu, Akira Ito, Jamahl Garrison-Lowe, Jeremy Shamos, Andrea Riseborough, Katherine O'Sullivan, Damian Young, Natalie Gold, Clark Middleton and Amy Ryan among others.

"It's like a complex choreography with a lot of people. But once it has been built as a foundation, I think that's the enormous of pleasure of working with people like Michael Keaton and Zach Galifianakis," Norton said.

Norton described Keaton and Galifianakis as people with an astonishing ability to "do a backflip that you weren't expecting" even within a set choreography.

 

 

Tags : edward norton Birdman Hulk The Avengers: Age of Ultron michael keaton Alejandro Gonzales Inarritu emma stone naomi watts zach galifianakis