Josh Hartnett
Back in business
Josh Hartnett is back.
© ImageCollect/Landmark Media
Josh Hartnett is back in the spotlight. He stars in the new series The Fear Index.
A leading role in the new Sky series “The Fear Index” (from February 17, 2022), plus a part in the next film by star director Christopher Nolan (51, “Tenet”): Josh Hartnett (43) is clearly back in the spotlight. In the early 2000s, he was one of the biggest and most promising movie stars. But 15 years ago he disappeared from the front row of Hollywood. But why did he withdraw? And why is he back now? By the way, he himself claims that he was never away.
He could have become Batman and Superman. After his first roles as a teenie twink (“The Faculty”, “The Virgin Suicides”), Josh Hartnett celebrated his big breakthrough in 2001 with “Pearl Harbor”. After subsequent roles in “Black Hawk Down” or “40 Days and 40 Nights”, the heartthrob was considered a rising star in Hollywood. He could have chosen to star in blockbusters. Among other things, he was offered the two greatest superheroes of all. But Hartnett decided to withdraw.
“I decided to have a life. That should come first. That was always my goal,” said Josh Hartnett in January 2021 in an interview with the magazine “Mr. Porter”. This interview was based on his role in Guy Ritchie’s (53) thriller “Cash Truck”, his biggest film in years and the first step towards a comeback.
retreat to England
Hartnett just didn’t want the pressure to be the next superstar. “I was overwhelmed by the intensity of my sudden fame,” he once said. “I felt like I couldn’t trust anyone I met.”
By turning down “Superman” and other major roles, he was messing with the wrong people in Hollywood. So he hardly got any parts in medium-sized films. The rogue actor self-produced the episode, playing “Rain Man” at the Theater in London.
Annoyed by Hollywood, he also privately retired to England. He had three children with British actress Tamsin Egerton (33), in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Not much more is known about his private life.
“I just had children”
Hartnett himself, however, does not speak of having deliberately disappeared from the radar. “I didn’t actually take any planned major breaks, I just had children,” he said in spring 2021. He only accepted small roles that didn’t separate him from his offspring for too long.
In the series “The Fear Index” he now plays the main role of the computer scientist Dr. Alex Hoffman, who finds himself in the line of fire after developing an artificial intelligence. After all, it’s a British series, so Hartnett was able to stay with his family.
In addition, there is an engagement in the next film by Christopher Nolan. The actor landed a starring role in ‘Oppenheimer,’ the film about ‘the father of the atomic bomb’ Robert J. Oppenheimer. It is not yet known how big his part will be.