Edward Norton on digging into the activism of Pete Seeger for ‘A Complete Unknown’ and annoying his kids with banjo-playing

Though A Complete Unknown is about Bob Dylan, the film also dives deep into the life of Pete Seeger.

The folk singer was instrumental in discovering and mentoring Dylan, and the film follows how Dylan ultimately grows restless with the genre over the course of the 1960s. Despite their diverging paths, Seeger is still there, rooting for him and advocating for civil rights alongside him as well.

Edward Norton told Yahoo Entertainment that he was drawn to the role of Seeger because the character is “incredibly complicated and compelling.”

“The music alone in this film was enough to hook me, and I loved the idea of getting into the music to recreate some of it. It was a different kind of challenge,” he said.

Norton said Seeger is a “well-documented person,” so when preparing for the role, he spent a lot of time watching “almost everything that was ever recorded of him” in a “treasure trove” on YouTube.

He also learned how to play the banjo.

“I focused very hard on a limited repertoire, so I think if I play ‘This Land Is Your Land’ one more time in my house, my children are going to break the banjo over my head,” he joked.

Though it’s now a familiar tune, Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” was released in 1945 as an anti-nationalist response to “God Bless America.” Over the years, it became a popular protest song.

As an activist himself, Norton said he “admired [Seeger] enormously” and felt an “alignment” with him, especially when he was in his early 20s.

“He was the guy who cleaned up the Hudson River,” Norton said. “There were people who — when I told them I was going to play Seeger — they got tears in their eyes. He had an enormous effect of inspiration on many people.”

Norton hopes people who see A Complete Unknown will learn about “the span and depth of [Seeger’s] commitment to social causes across many decades,” he said. “In general, I think we all hope the film would get people to look a little deeper at artists in that whole period — how tightly woven these great artists were with … the movement for social change.”

“They were in it to try to use music as an instrument of change, and not just to get famous and rich, you know what I mean?” Norton added. “It’s worth a reconsideration.”

A Complete Unknown is in theaters now.

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