How Josh Hartnett fluked his way into a Hollywood career: “I didn’t know what I was doing”
Not many people would turn down the opportunity to play Superman, just ask Josh Hartnett. After breaking into the public sphere as Michael Fitzgerald in the innovative crime drama series Cracker, he was scouted for a number of top roles, including Clark Kent. However, Hartnett said no. Despite rejecting one of the biggest parts in cinema, he’s not done too badly for himself, amassing a filmography that includes Pearl Harbour, Black Hawk Down, Sin City, and Oppenheimer.
Things could have been very different for Hartnett, though, had he accepted Hollywood as his home. It might have worked out in the end, but very few people can say they walked away from a chance that big and still made a good fist of it. Perhaps it’s not a massive surprise that his movie career has taken so many twists and turns, as it was unusual right from the start.
Following the success of Cracker, he landed a part in the legacy sequel, 1998’s Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. As the son of Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode, Hartnett found himself a major part of a horror institution. Although, sadly, H20 is now seen as non-canon. That same year, he appeared in Robert Rodriguez’s cult favourite sci-fi chiller The Faculty as Zeke Tyler. The Hart-throb (see what we did there?) is part of a group of students who make a startling discovery about the teachers at their school.
While reflecting on his career as a whole with Vanity Fair, Hartnett recalled the unlikely circumstances that led to him being cast in The Faculty. “[I] met Robert Rodriguez, hadn’t read the script, and he cast me on the spot essentially for Zeke,” he revealed. “Many years afterwards, I was like, ‘What did you see in me?’ Like, I didn’t know what I was doing. He’s like, ‘It’s precisely because you didn’t know what you were doing, you were like too cool to have read the script that I thought you’d be perfect for Zeke.’”
The most remarkable thing about this story is that Hartnett genuinely didn’t know what he was doing. “I wasn’t actually interested in film acting,” he announced. “I thought maybe I’d want to direct if I could ever find a way to direct. I loved the art of filmmaking and would watch like movie after movie each night, and I fell in love with Federico Fellini and Louis Malle and Fred Lucci and like a ton of really just amazing filmmakers. That was sort of my film school.”
Working on The Faculty was one hell of an introduction to the world of movies. As well as working with a director of Rodriguez’s calibre, Hartnett also got to spend time with a series of esteemed actors. These included then-current stars Jordana Brewster and Clea DuVall, future greats Elijah Wood and Salma Hayek, screen legend Piper Laurie, and even pop star Usher.
Hartnett clearly didn’t mind the whole acting thing too much. He’s appeared in countless movies, TV shows, and plays since his big break and has embraced many aspects of the thespian lifestyle. He even accidentally got into a feud with Harrison Ford. As for his directorial ambitions, he is yet to step behind the camera. Although, knowing his luck, Steven Spielberg’s car will probably break down outside his house and, as a thank-you, he’ll let him direct ET 2.
