Together with his film profession as soon as once more in excessive gear, Josh Hartnett is trying again on the troubling circumstances that prompted him to retreat from the highlight at a time when he appeared destined for Hollywood megastardom.
Talking to The Guardian this weekend to advertise his new movie, “Trap,” Hartnett opened up about turning down the function of Superman in two separate tasks. He mentioned he arrived at that call after he’d grown distressed on the quantity of consideration he was receiving from followers and the media.
“People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy,” he defined. “There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me.”
The breaking level, Hartnett mentioned, was when “a guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison.” In line with the outlet, that incident occurred in 2005, across the identical time that the Minnesota-born actor was rising to matinee idol standing following a string of movies like “Wicker Park” and “Sin City.”
Along with passing on the possibility to painting Superman twice, Hartnett additionally acknowledged he’d been approached by director Christopher Nolan to play Batman in “The Dark Night” earlier than Christian Bale landed the function.
“I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work,” he mentioned. “And there was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up. And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.”
Mark Mainz through Getty Photos
In actuality, Hartnett by no means gave up performing fully. Nonetheless, he notably started choosing extra offbeat, much less high-profile tasks from that time onward. And although he continued to obtain approval for his performances, that didn’t cease many retailers from assuming he’d turned his again on his chosen career altogether.
Apparently, Hartnett went on to work with Nolan in final 12 months’s Oscar-winning smash “Oppenheimer,” during which he had a supporting function. He returns to the large display screen with a starring function in M. Night time Shyamalan’s “Trap,” out Friday. The thriller follows Cooper (performed by Hartnett), a seemingly doting dad who accompanies his teen daughter (Ariel Donoghue) to a pop live performance.
As is Shyamalan’s cinematic signature, nonetheless, there’s an enormous twist when it’s revealed that Hartnett’s character may be a suspected serial killer on the run from the authorities.
After all, solely time will inform if “Trap” results in a full-blown “Hartnettissance,” as some have predicted. Both means, Hartnett says he’s come to adapt a extra balanced method in terms of pursuing performing tasks whereas avoiding the pitfalls of fame.
“I’ve figured out that as much as you’re worried about curating your career to things you’re interested in, I don’t believe that’s the most important thing any more,” he informed The Guardian. “It’s about finding people who you really trust.”
