Josh Hartnett Reveals How Toxic Fandom Made Him Walk Away From Hollywood

Josh Harnett, the actor who grew to become a teenage heartthrob within the late ’90s earlier than out of the blue backing away from Hollywood, has shared why he rejected main movie roles simply when he was on the cusp of changing into an enormous film star. Based on the Oppenheimer star, it had quite a bit to do with poisonous fan habits and even some incidents of stalking. Most notably, Hartnett was at one level in talks to star in Christopher Nolan’s Darkish Knight trilogy, and was additionally seen as a possible Superman. As a substitute, he determined to stroll away from the highlight to give attention to different issues and forestall the stalking scenario from reaching a harmful level. Per Deadline, Hartnett defined:

“Individuals’s consideration to me on the time was borderline unhealthy. There have been incidents. Individuals confirmed up at my home. Folks that had been stalking me. A man confirmed up at one in every of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in jail. There have been plenty of issues. It was a bizarre time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.”

Whereas he didn’t win the function of Nolan’s Batman, extra just lately, Hartnett received a job in 2023’s Oppenheimer, taking part in nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence. And the actor now seems like he has an opportunity in Hollywood once more:

“I acknowledge the missed alternative to work with a man like Chris. And I’ve discovered that as a lot as you’re anxious about curating your profession to belongings you’re considering, I don’t imagine that’s crucial factor anymore. It’s about discovering individuals who you actually belief.

I simply didn’t need my life to be swallowed up by my work. And there was a notion at the moment you simply sort of give all of it up. And also you noticed what occurred to some individuals again then. They obtained obliterated by it. I didn’t need that for myself.”

Josh Hartnett Has Slowly Begun to Re-Enter the Highlight

Fortunately, issues might, and most certainly will, change for Hartnett in 2024. He’s set to guide M. Evening Shyamalan’s upcoming thriller, Lure, which can be launched subsequent month. Within the movie, he performs Cooper, the daddy to a teenage daughter who, after escorting her to a live performance, discovers that the gig is a ruse by the police to seize a serial killer. The issue is, Cooper is that serial killer. No less than, that’s the “official” model, however as you’re little doubt conscious, this can be a Shyamalan joint, and it’ll most certainly have a twist ending. Care to guess what it’s?

In recent times, Hartnett has proven up in movies just like the motion thriller Wrath of Man and the comedic spy outing Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, each of which had been helmed by Man Ritchie and located Hartnett starring alongside motion icon Jason Statham. He additionally made an look within the critically acclaimed third season of The Bear. His most outstanding roles previous to this had been within the late Nineteen Nineties and early 2000s, the place Harnett appeared in movies like Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, The School, Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, Wicker Park, and the terrifying vampire outing 30 Days of Evening, amongst others. Right here’s hoping that his expertise within the highlight is much better this time round.