2. Primal Fear- Aaron Stampler/Roy
In his film debut, Norton gives a haunting Oscar nominated performance as Aaron Stampler, a young altar boy on trial for murdering an Archbishop in the 1996 legal thriller Primal Fear. As his defense lawyer Martin Vail (Richard Gere) begins to get to know Aaron more, he soon discovers that the quiet, stuttering Aaron has a dark passenger along with him, one that seems to come out when he is put under an amount of duress. Norton slowly pulls the layers back on Aaron, allowing Roy, his violent smooth talking alter ego to emerge from behind Aaron's sad and frightened eyes. It is Roy who openly confesses to the murder. When Roy goes back behind his eyes, Aaron resurfaces, unaware of what has transpired from an apparent blackout. What Norton achieves with the performance is to manipulate both the audience and the characters in the film that his Aaron is a psychologically damaged boy who does not know what he is capable of. However, as the film reaches an ultimate climax, we soon discover another layer to the rich tapestry that Norton has woven in his performance. He openly admits that both Aaron and Roy were fabricated, allowing Vail to ensure a conviction of insanity is given by the courts, thus his character ultimately gets away with murder. By pulling the wool over everyone's eyes with his devilishly brilliant portrayal in Primal Fear, Norton solidified himself early in his career as an actor willing to take his roles to the darkest corridors of the mind.