Ed Norton stars as folk legend Pete Seeger in the new Bob Dylan movie A Complete Unknown, and he realizes many people may not know how influential Seeger was to music.
In an interview with IndieWire, Norton says he hopes the film is “an opportunity to put a light on this period and how amazing these artists were and get reconnected to them,” and that’s particularly true for Seeger, who Norton doesn’t believe is as known as he should be.
As an example of that, Norton shares a story about the reaction Her director Spike Jonze had when he heard Norton was playing Seeger.
“He was like, ‘Wow, are you doing the music yourself?’ I said yes. And he goes, ‘Are you doing “Night Moves” and “Against the Wind” and “Old Time Rock & Roll”?’” Norton says. “I’m like, ‘Pete Seeger, not Bob Seger!’ And he was like, ‘Wait, who is Pete Seeger?’”
Seeger penned such songs as “If I Had A Hammer” and “Where Have All The Flowers Gone.” He was such an important figure in music that in 2006 Bruce Springsteen did a whole album, We Shall Overcome: The Seeger Sessions, dedicated to Seeger’s music. And Norton says he’s not surprised.
“Bruce, to me, he’s 100 percent, no question whatsoever, the Pete Seeger of our generation and our time,” Norton says. “He’s the guy who really actually took up the mantle.”
He adds, “And I’d argue more than anyone, since Pete Seeger, Bruce Springsteen has been the troubadour of the working man and also an unapologetic deployer of music toward political progressive humanism. He’s a force. Bruce has long been one of the deacons in the Pete Seeger church.”
A Complete Unknown opens Dec. 25.
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