Traumatic incident

Why Josh Hartnett turned his back on Hollywood

With successful films such as "Black Hawk Down" and "40 Days and 40 Nights", he was well on his way to becoming a Hollywood superstar in the early 2000s. But at the zenith of his career, Josh Hartnett shocked everyone by deciding to avoid the limelight altogether.

In "The Guardian", the 46-year-old now revealed what prompted him to voluntarily withdraw from the A-list: fear of his crazy fans.

"Superman" role rejected
Hartnett revealed that he had even received offers to finally establish himself as a megastar either in the role of the new "Superman" or as Batman in "The Dark Knight".

Traumatic incident
But he turned down both offers. The reason: "The attention I got from people was often bordering on the unhealthy. There were incidents. People suddenly turned up outside my house and stalked me." 

One guy turned up at a premiere with a gun and claimed to be my father. He ended up in prison.

Josh Hartnett

After a traumatic incident in 2005, he finally decided that he wanted to give up his Hollywood career: "A guy turned up at a premiere with a gun and claimed to be my father. He ended up in prison."

Smaller projects since 2015
From 2011, Hartnett withdrew from the film industry: "I had decided that I didn't want to be swallowed up by my work. I witnessed what happened to a few of my colleagues. They were literally destroyed and I didn't want that for myself." From 2015 onwards, Hartnett was again engaged for smaller projects.

Nevertheless, many believed that the star had retired completely - until he made a comeback last year in a supporting role in "Oppenheimer". This is now followed by his first major leading role in over 16 years. In M. Night Shyamalan's new thriller "Trap", he plays a father who accompanies his teenage daughter to a pop concert. In reality, this turns out to be a trap for a mass murderer.