Some actors in Hollywood enjoy the limelight and all the attention that comes with it, and others prefer to stay out of the public eye for reasons of privacy and artistic principle. Certainly, Josh Hartnett belongs in the second group.
Hartnett has always been a reluctant celebrity, shying away from the Hollywood machine and forging his own path in the industry despite his undeniable talent and heartthrob status. In a recent interview, he discussed his life, including why he’s turned down superhero roles and how, twenty years after turning down Batman, he ended up working with acclaimed director Christopher Nolan.
Josh Hartnett: The Reluctant Celebrity
At 44 years old, Josh Hartnett has had plenty of exposure to the allure and demands of Hollywood. Hartnett went from playing a virginal virgin in Sofia Coppola’s ethereal The Virgin Suicides to a heroic war hero in the monumental Pearl Harbor and became an instant media darling.
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However, unlike many of his peers, the actor was never fully at ease in the limelight. Hartnett discusses the pressure actors feel to promote themselves and constantly shape their public image over coffee.
“I couldn’t operate on that plane. I think actors now have more of an expectation to promote themselves in a certain way, or understand who they are to the public and foster that. I’ve never been great at celebrity. Promoting a movie? There’s not gonna be one person who says I’m great at that part. I’m not very good at creating an image.”
Josh Hartnett has opted not to follow the norms of his field to improve his craft so that his work can stand on its own. This move paid off as he developed into a multifaceted and compelling performer without the constraints of fame.
His guest-starring role in an episode of the hit dystopian anthology series Black Mirror proves his adaptability as an actor. Hartnett plays a 1960s family man and a lone astronaut in this episode about loss and the impact of technology on interpersonal relationships.
Choosing Christopher Nolan Over Superhero Roles
Hartnett’s decision to turn down high-profile superhero roles at the height of his fame is one of the most intriguing aspects of his career. Hartnett was offered parts in Warner Bros.’s superhero films. Still, he declined the chance to play Superman and initially declined an offer to meet with director Christopher Nolan about playing Batman. In its place, he expressed an interest in joining the cast of The Prestige, a film written by Nolan’s sibling.
“So here’s what happened. Warner Bros wanted me to do one of their superhero films. Chris Nolan was directing one of their superhero films. I met him. I talked to him about it. It wasn’t something that was interesting to me at the time. I was on a different path to a lot of actors. And I was more interested in a film that Chris’s brother had written – The Prestige. I loved Chris as a filmmaker, and I really wanted to work with him, and I was hoping that if I was straight-up honest with him about not wanting to do the superhero movie, maybe I could do The Prestige…”
Christian Bale was a bad choice for Batman, but Nolan worked with him on The Prestige. Hartnett’s career went in a different direction, but it eventually led him back to work with Nolan on the highly anticipated film Oppenheimer. Hartnett calls his time spent filming the making of the atomic bomb exceptional.
With Hartnett, it’s not about the money or the size of the role. It’s all about doing what makes you happy and keeping things as normal as possible. He has always made it a point to leave work at the office and focus on himself and his relationships outside of it.
Hartnett has maintained his equilibrium despite the allure and chaos of Hollywood, finding peace and contentment in a life away from the public eye. Josh Hartnett has forged his own path in a business where conformity is often expected by rejecting norms and choosing instead artistically fulfilling roles.
Source: Independent
