Josh Hartnett on his Hollywood hiatus, stalker incident

Last Updated on August 2, 2024

In the late ‘90s and early aughts, Josh Hartnett was at the top of the heartthrob list, making his big screen debut in Halloween: H20 and launching into a stream of movies that easily placed him in the public eye – especially that of the teenage girl. But with that came the obsessive and the stalkers, which was part of why Hartnett started to shy away from the industry.

Although far removed from the days of being the type who gets plastered all over peoples’ bedroom walls or mirror, Josh Hartnett still remembers backing away when things got overwhelming. “I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work. 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.”

In the first five years of Josh Hartnett’s big screen career, he made twice as many features, most of which centered around his looks (so rarely do the teeny bopper types get recognized for their acting; then again, most shouldn’t): Here on Earth, O, Pearl Harbor, 40 Days and 40 Nights…And then there was The Faculty, which, even as a high school drug dealer battling pod people, he was still the cute factor.

While he did take a break from acting – albeit not a long one, at under two years – he noted just how obsessed some fans got…and he’s not just talking about his target audience. “People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy…Look, I don’t want to give this a lot of weight. There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me…A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison. There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.”

With the wackos long subsiding, Josh Hartnett has been on a tear as of late, a mid-life resurrection that has found him appearing in Best Picture winner Oppenheimer, M. Night Shyamalan’s latest Trap and even a one-off spot on The Bear.

What is your favorite Josh Hartnett role? What are your thoughts on his career shift?