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Edward Norton Hoped To 'Mix It Up' With Robert De Niro In 'Stone'

'We know each other's rhythms,' actor says of working with De Niro before in 'The Score.'

Given their collective bodies of work, and reputations for being serious thespians, Edward Norton and Robert De Niro seem like a perfect co-starring pair. Their first onscreen appearance together was in the 2001 heist thriller "The Score," and their second, "Stone," arrives in theaters this week.

In the film, Norton plays cold, calculating and convicted arsonist Stone Creeson, who is serving out the last few years of his sentence when he comes up for parole. In order to be released, he has to convince his very spiritual parole officer (De Niro) that he is ready to be back in the real world.

When MTV News caught up with the former Incredible Hulk, we asked him how he and De Niro came together for a second time and to describe their working relationship.

"He was really supportive of me and encouraging me even before we did 'The Score,' " Norton said. "So I felt good going into that one, but the nature of the material, it was a lot of fun. It wasn't maybe what you dream of when you say, 'Oh, I'd love to do a movie with Robert De Niro someday.' This was much more that," he explained of his work on "Stone."

Norton said what attracted him to the role was, first, a personal phone call from Mr. De Niro, and also the challenge of creating dramatic tension out of two people talking.

"When I found out he was in it, and he rang me up too and said, 'This could be really good for us,' that was exciting," Norton recalled. "I definitely felt that this will be good for us, and we know each other's rhythms and we can really mix it up in a way that would be thrilling to me."

Sure the convict-vs.-parole-officer thing has been done in film before, but if anyone can put a new spin on it, it's Norton and De Niro.

Check out everything we've got on "Stone."

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