5. The Incredible Hulk - Bruce Banner/The Incredible Hulk
Playing one of the great Marvel Comics characters was initially not an undertaking Edward Norton was interested in. Yet when he was given an opportunity to re-write the screenplay to the film and interpret his own theories on his character's origins, he relished the opportunity to play Dr. Bruce Banner and his violent alter-ego, The Incredible Hulk. The film begins with a flashback to the incident that has caused Banner to morph into The Hulk, a military experiment gone wrong. Banner takes remorse in what he has created, not only destroying his research, but causing bodily harm to the love of his life (Liv Tyler) at the hands of the uncontrollable Hulk. He lives alone 5 years later, still trying to figure a cure for his problem. Although comic book adaptations have been dismissed in the past for being popcorn fluff, The Incredible Hulk along with Iron Man, (released the same year) breathed new life into the genre, allowing for more complexities and humanistic traits to be infused in these iconic characters. Norton creates Banner as a man living with constant guilt for what he has created. He is aware of the damage The Hulk has caused and is aware of the damage his alter-ego is doing to his mind and body. He lives with constant fear of turning into The Hulk. This alter-ego is one of the great Jekyll & Hyde characters of all time, and Norton, the consummate professional gives the character, the film and the genre a new outlook with his rich performance.