Why Josh Hartnett Turned His Back On Hollywood… And Rejected Superman

When Josh Hartnett was in his early 20s he was a huge Hollywood star with the world at his feet.

He was offered the title role in ‘Superman Returns’ – and turned it down. He also had “talks” about Batman and Spider-Man.

His face was on billboards around the world thanks to starring in ‘Pearl Harbour’ and ‘Black Hawk Down’. But he gave it all up to work on indie movies and TV.

[Harrison Ford: his best bust-ups]

In a brilliant interview with Details, Hartnett, now 35, explains why he’s spent the last 10 years out of the limelight.

“I was on the cover of every magazine. I couldn't really go anywhere. I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin,” he said. “I was alone. I didn't trust anyone. So I went back to Minnesota and got back together with my old friends—ended up getting back together with my high-school girlfriend for a while—and I didn't do any filming for 18 months. I'm still finding my way through all that.”

He spent the next decade appearing in mostly indie fare (with the exception of the mid-budget '30 Days of Night’). Films that were never seen in multiplexes, like Hong Kong thriller ‘I Come With The Rain’, 9/11 drama ‘August’ and relationship flick ‘Parts Per Billion’.

Thanks to modest box office returns he’s had to adapt to rejection in recent times, in contrast to the start of his career when he was instantly offered roles.
 
“I didn't have to struggle as an actor, although I think that I've made up for it now. I still get offered films and TV roles, luckily, but years ago, if I saw a role I wanted, there was a good chance I could grab it. When I see a role now, I've got to fight for it. It's not bad. It's actually more rewarding. Depressing when something doesn't go your way, but only for a minute.”
 
He also explains why he turned down the superhero movie offers that came his way back in the early noughties.
 
“Spider-Man was something we talked about. Batman was another one. I somehow knew those roles had potential to define me, and I didn't want that. I didn't want to be labelled as Superman for the rest of my career. I was maybe 22, but I saw the danger.”
 
A far cry from Superman is his latest project - the US TV series 'Penny Dreadful' on Showtime - which he agreed to star in because of his lack of success in recent times.
 
“I did, like, 10 independent films, but none of them landed with an audience. There were a lot of times—too many times—when people would come up to me and say, "Oh, I saw ‘August’ on DVD" or "I saw ‘Lucky Number Slevin’ on Showtime." They'd be like, "Such a good movie—what happened to it? Why didn't it come out?" So I figured I could continue to beat my head against the wall, or I could take a different tack and try something else.