Lou vs. Edward: A tale of two Hulks

Education

Ferrigno

Graduated from the Brooklyn Technical High School in 1969.

Norton

Graduated from Wilde Lake High School in 1987. Graduated from Yale University in 1991 with a bachelor’s degree in history while finding time to act in the university’s plays.

Winner: Norton by a B.A.  (Jennifer S. Altman / For the Times)

Before They Were Stars

Ferrigno

He won his first major body-building titles, IFBB Mr. America, after graduating from high school and then was named Mr. Universe four years later at the age of 21, a Guinness Book of World Records feat that stands to this day. In 1974, he came in second in his first effort to win the Mr. Olympia competition. The 1977 documentary “Pumping Iron” chronicled his attempt to beat Arnold Schwarzenegger for the Mr. Olympia title in 1975. In 1977, he came in fourth in the first World’s Strongest Man Contest.

Norton

After graduating from Yale, Norton went to work for his grandfather’s company, Enterprise Foundation, in Osaka, Japan. The company works to make affordable housing for low-income families. Upon returning to New York, he waited tables, was a proofreader and a director’s assistant — he tried to become a cab driver but was too young to qualify for a hack’s license — for nearly two years before award-winning playwright Edward Albee (“Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”) noticed him at an audition for his play “Fragments” at the Signature Theater Company off-Broadway. Not only did Norton get the role, he also became a member of the theater’s repertory company.

Winner: It’s a toss-up between brain and brawn.  (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

Personal life

Ferrigno

Married Susan Groff in 1978, whom he divorced a year later. In 1980, he married psychotherapist Carla Green, who became his manager and also a personal trainer. They have three children.

Norton

Single, his high-profile girlfriends have included Courtney Love and Salma Hayek.

Winner: Ferrigno. A 27-year marriage in Hollywood is almost worthy of the Guinness Book of World Records.  (Joshua Gates Weisberg / EPA)

Outside interests

Ferrigno

He gives motivational speeches and seminars at universities, corporations and schools for the hearing impaired. In 2006, he became a deputy for the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department afer completing the physical and academic training program. He trains daily — Ferrigno returned to competition in the early 1990s, taking second place in the 1994 Olympia Masters — and even offers one-on-one training sessions for budding Hulks.

Norton

Has his private pilot’s license and is well-known for his support of environmental causes and renewable energy projects

Winner: Toss-up. Norton is strong on the environment and social causes, but one can’t ignore Ferrigno’s accomplishments as a hearing-impaired athlete and actor.  (Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images)