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Crush on Edward Norton: increasing as I read interviews with him.

Throught the early 90s, Norton was living an actor's life, shuffling odd jobs around his life in the theater, waiting tables, temping, proofreading at a court-reporting service. He even tried to get a hack license, but he was too young. He came within a hairsbreadth of being cast in movies such as With Honors, Hackers, Sabrina and Up Close and Personal. "It's very frustrating," he says, "because it's like you walk up to a line and you can see over on the other side how your life is gonna change and get a lot more exciting if you can make that last step, and then you don't, and you have to go back to your grind temping or waiting or whatever. And hustling."

Once, he went to audition for the New York Shakespeare Festival, where he read for Georgianne Walken, the casting-director wife of Christopher Walken. By that time in his life Norton had played so much Shakespeare he could have done it in his sleep. But, as he recalls it, she sat him down and said, "Well, if you don't mind my saying so, I think you might want to consider doing something else other than acting."

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm just saying this to you because I think it's important for you to hear it. I'm not sure this is the best choice for you." He says now, "Those moments can be very important, because if they make you doubt yourself, you oughta get out. But if you walk out pissed off and convinced that they're wrong, then you're probably in the right business. I walked out pissed off, thinking she was an idiot, and I was going to show her."

Tiny, inspired hearts, man.

The miracle of Norton's performances is that when he talks about acting he givces the impression of being a totally cerebral actor, one who thinks himself into a role; on-screen, however, he is entirely intuitive and spontaneous. According to Forman, "Edward's great advantage is that he combines instinct with intellectual analysis. And if he keeps it in perfect balance, instinct and intellect, that's the greatest result you can get from an actor."

And, of course, he's pretty to boot.