Edward Norton partook in the PBS docuseries Finding Your Roots alongside some of his peers but hated what he learned. The actor is back on top thanks to his latest release, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery.
His performance as Miles Bron received high praise from his peers in the industry and has fans looking forward to his upcoming releases.
The docuseries, Finding Your Roots is the first of Norton's 2023 releases and this one is heavily-packed with intense revelations. It premiered on Tuesday, 3rd January giving the audiences a full view of Norton's reaction to learning his ancestors owned slaves.
The host, Henry Gates Louis Jr. showed Norton a family's picture of a 55-year-old man, a 37-year-old woman and five girls aged, 10,9, 8, 6, and 4.
"The short answer is these things are uncomfortable and everybody should be uncomfortable with it."
The Glass Onion actor elaborated on his point, saying it's a shame on American history and the old norms. He added that it needs to be acknowledged and contended beyond census counts. Norton hated that children were born into perpetual slavery and are glad that's over today.
The show traced Norton's ancestry to 1614, saying Pocahontas is his 12th-generation great-grandmother. She'd married John Rolfe in 1614 and had the documents to prove it. Norton said it makes him realize how he's just a small part of the human story.
Norton's genealogy is richer than being Pocahontas' 12th-generation great-grandson, as the docuseries linked him to the Rouse family. His great-grandfather was William Goldsmith Rouse, a businessman, and attorney based in Maryland, while his Grandfather, James, founded a successful shopping mall chain, The Rouse Company.
Norton grew up in Columbia, Maryland, although he was born in Boston. Confirming his family's story as fact stunned and humbled the actor.
This season of Finding Your Roots also features Julia Roberts, who shares an episode with Norton, Viola Davis, Claire Danes, Jeff Daniels, Brian Cox, Richard Kind, Cyndi Lauper, Danny Trejo, David Duchovny, and more.
The Norton and Roberts episode, Hidden Kin, aired on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. ET on PBS. Fans saw Roberts make interesting family discoveries, including the possibility that her name isn't "Roberts."
There are 21 guests this season.
