Josh Hartnett was one of the most promising stars of the late 90s and early 2000s, many fans know the actor for his horror flicks. He is a man of many talents who had become an idol for a lot of children back in the day. But one thing that he must learn is how to make the right decision as the actor had turned down three of the most iconic roles in the biggest superhero franchises that every actor could dream of.
For the Penny Dreadful actor life was meant to be anything but crowded with fame and glamor, hence, he decided to turn down the roles in DC and Marvel, as he was offered to play the roles of Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. The question remains as doing those roles would have exponentially added to Josh Hartnett’s career.
Josh Hartnett Doesn’t Prefer Playing Iconic Superheroes
Josh Hartnett is one of those actors, who had the potential to become the biggest actor in the movie industry, as he has worked in renowned films like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. Naturally, the Oppenheimer actor became one of the most in-demand actors of the early 2000s, so he was offered the roles of Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man. However, he did not even hesitate to drop all three iconic superhero roles.
These days, it would be quite unthinkable, as any actor would not imagine turning down any of the iconic roles, that too in a major superhero franchise like DC or Marvel. During an exclusive interview with Metro UK, he shared the real reason for turning down the superhero roles, which he rejected without much thought.
“At that age it is very easy to become someone else’s tool or someone else’s puppet. I was very aware of the choices I was making and I wanted them to be my choices… There were a lot of powers that be that wanted me to pursue those films, but I have always been interested in stories about people and I didn’t want to be boxed into that superhero type. Back then a lot of actors had to fight really hard to get their career back after they played those characters.”
In a separate interview with Playboy, Josh Hartnett shared how he has said no to some big names, as he wanted to spend time with his friends and family members.
“I’ve definitely said no to some of the wrong people. I learned my lesson when Christopher Nolan and I talked about Batman. I decided it wasn’t for me. Then he didn’t want to put me in The Prestige. I was so focused on not being pigeonholed and so scared of being considered only one thing as an actor … Watching Christian Bale go on to do so many other things has been just awesome. I mean, he’s been able to overcome that. Why couldn’t I see that at the time?… I know now that I wouldn’t turn something down just because it’s a superhero role.”
While Josh Hartnett has turned down major roles, he does not regret them as he got to live his life the way he desired it to be.
Josh Hartnett Is Proud of His Life Decisions
During an exclusive interview with Variety, the Wicker Park actor was asked about the overnight fame and the media frenzy that came along with it, the actor revealed:
“It felt removed from how my life was then. All those magazine covers and paparazzi and all that sort of stuff was not at all how I lived my life, and not at all who I thought myself to be. So I feel very much myself now, and I took steps to make my life not as crazy after that movie came out and was successful at it and have remained sort of outside of the fray.
When I was younger, it was important to me to kind of figure out who I was, what I wanted for my life, how I wanted to create my life without so much scrutiny. I did that, and now I feel comfortable being who I am in the spotlight if I need to be.”
While the actor doesn’t regret his life decisions, he decided to make the fans go crazy as he decided to work in Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which was enough to make the viewers go nuts.
