Hollywood actor Edward Norton is helping the planet go green by teaching Zombies to be environmentally friendly. The actor was mentioned by the very respectable business journal Forbes magazine for going green recently when the producer of the hit show “The Walking Dead” was discussing how their film production team, cast, and crew are taking an eco-friendly approach to filming productions destined for movies or television.
Who is Edward Norton? “[He] is a very committed environmentalist…” above all else said Ann Hurd, the show’s producer. In her estimation, he’s a bright green celebrity.
She went on to reveal that while the cast and crew were on location in Canada taping a new series of segments, that they made an executive decision to go eco.”We happened to be filming in Toronto,” Hurd shared, adding that the group had just started what she called, “their own green screen initiative.”At that time she said, “The team at Toronto Studios were also interested in lending a hand to green practices. So I think that without everyone’s involvement, from the top down, this wouldn’t have proceeded.”
Edward Norton is a celeb who uses his star power wisely. Born on August 18, 1969, his father is an attorney who works for the National Trust for Historic Preservation and his late mother, Robin Norton, was a former foundation executive and teacher. She passed away of brain cancer on March 6, 1997. He has a younger brother and sister, James and Molly Norton.
His longtime life partner is producer Shauna Robertson. Norton popped the question in 2011, but the couple are still engaged. The couple was sighted last March while taking a romantic getaway to Malibu, according to JustJared.com.
Green or not, Norton (himself) is bright guy. He graduated from Yale with a degree in History, but has been an actor and an active conservationist since childhood.
His first major film was “Primal Fear” with Richard Gere. His performance was so stunning that the industry was buzzing before the film was even released. He won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Oscar for his first major role.
He went on to star in the cult classic “Fight Club” and “American History X” and made his directorial début with “Keeping the Faith”. But he is is probably most famous for playing the bad guy in the blockbuster hit “The Italian Job” (with green celebrity co-stars Matt Damon and Charlize Theron).
[He was so good at playing an antagonistic villain in that film that it sometimes makes it hard to like him even in his personal life or playing any other protagonist role now.]
Norton credits his father, an attorney and naturalist, for giving him the passion for eco-friendly housing for low-income populations and protecting the environment. He started contributing in his teenage years and has not stopped. In 2009, he ran the New York Marathon with a group of Maasai warriors and used an innovative Twitter campaign to raise over $750,000 for the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust.
Norton’s grandfather and grandmother co-founded a national affordable housing nonprofit called the Enterprise Foundation. He started working with the foundation after high school and is now a trustee for the organization.
Like Danny DeVito, Norton also supports Solar Neighbors, a charity that provides access to solar power to low-income residents in South Central Los Angeles. When an invited celebrity buys a BP solar system for their home, BP donates a similar system.
Will having his name mentioned in the Forbes article help his star power rise? Certainly. Because even if it doesn’t make him more famous in Hollywood social circles, it certainly will help him earn more #EcoMonday Twitter Klout.
Peace, love, and zombie out.