Why Actor Edward Norton Champions Biodiversity

Awake At Night

Acclaimed actor, filmmaker and three-time Academy Award nominee Edward Norton has long been raising his voice on behalf of the planet and its most vulnerable communities. As a UN Goodwill Ambassador for Biodiversity, he is championing the protection of biodiversity for the well-being of all.

“It’s quite heartbreaking. I started diving, when I was 14, in the Caribbean. The change to the reef environments in the Caribbean in my adult lifetime is staggering and really upsetting. Reefs are in just terrible shape, terrible shape. Bleached, covered with algae, fish a fraction of what they were. What was vibrant and colorful and rich is just sort of denuded. It looks like a burnt forest or something. It’s just not, it’s not as alive.”

Working closely with communities in East Africa and around the world, Edward Norton is pushing for conservation that also tackles poverty by providing sustainable sources of income for local communities.

In this special episode, the Hollywood star reflects on his activist upbringing, his hopes for his children, and on balancing a successful acting career with a rich, varied and meaningful life.