Claim: Edward Norton's grandfather is James Rouse.

Edward Harrison Norton -LRB- born August 18 , 1969 -RRB- is an American actor , filmmaker and activist . He has been nominated for three Academy Awards for his work in the films Primal Fear -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , American History X -LRB- 1998 -RRB- and Birdman -LRB- 2014 -RRB- . He also starred in other roles , such as Everyone Says I Love You -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , The People vs. Larry Flynt -LRB- 1996 -RRB- , Fight Club -LRB- 1999 -RRB- , Red Dragon -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , 25th Hour -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , Kingdom of Heaven -LRB- 2005 -RRB- , The Illusionist -LRB- 2006 -RRB- , Moonrise Kingdom -LRB- 2012 -RRB- , The Grand Budapest Hotel -LRB- 2014 -RRB- and Sausage Party -LRB- 2016 -RRB- . He has also directed and co-written films , including his directorial debut , Keeping the Faith -LRB- 2000 -RRB- . He has done uncredited work on the scripts for The Score -LRB- 2001 -RRB- , Frida -LRB- 2002 -RRB- , and The Incredible Hulk -LRB- 2008 -RRB- .   Alongside his work in cinema , Norton is an environmental and social activist , and is a member of the board of trustees of Enterprise Community Partners , a non-profit organization for developing affordable housing founded by his grandfather James Rouse . Norton is president of the American branch of the Maasai Wilderness Conservation Trust . He ran in the 2009 New York City Marathon to raise money for the Trust . He also raises money for charity through Crowdrise , a social networking community for volunteers and a micro-donations fundraising platform . In July 2010 , Norton was designated as the United Nations Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon . On July 2 , 2014 , Norton was elected chairman of the board of trustees to Signature Theatre , a not-for-profit theater company in New York . Norton has been on Signature 's board since 1996 and served as the co-chair of the Capital Campaign during the building of the Pershing Square Signature Center .