Josh Hartnett has revealed why he decided to leave the glittering world of Hollywood, despite a successful career on the silver screen.
The actor rose to fame starring in a string of hit films in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including the 1998 film “The Faculty” and the 2001 blockbuster “Black Hawk Down.”
Hartnett now claims that she was stalked by an “unhealthy” fan, which led her to turn her back on Hollywood for several years.
“At that time the attention I was receiving had reached an unhealthy level,” Harnett, 46, told the Guardian.
“There was an incident. People came to my house. They’re stalking me.”
As a result, a desperate Harnett and his wife, British actress Tamsin Egerton, packed their bags and moved to Hampshire, England.
Since then, he’s had limited roles, including the 2023 box office smash hit “Oppenheimer” and M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming psychological thriller “Trapped.”
Hartnett opened up about her experience with stalking, saying that when she was 27, “a man showed up to my premiere with a gun and claimed to be my father. He ended up going to prison.”
“A lot has happened. It’s been a strange time. And I wasn’t going to be the subject of that conversation,” he added.
Hartnett rose to fame in the late 1990s and early 2000s with films such as Pearl Harbor and 40 Days, 40 Nights.
In 2014, Hartnett said one of the reasons he decided to stop making blockbuster movies was because he “couldn’t trust anyone.”
“I was on the cover of every magazine,” he explained to Details magazine at the time (via Us Weekly ). “I had nowhere to go. I was uncomfortable in my body. I was lonely. I didn’t trust anyone.”
The Minnesota native said leaving Hollywood has affected the types of roles he’s able to play.
“I’m fortunate enough to still get offered film and TV roles, but a few years ago, if I saw a role I wanted, there was a good chance I’d get it,” he said at the time.
“When I look at my roles now, I have to fight for them. It’s not bad – it’s more challenging. I do get depressed when something doesn’t go my way, but it only lasts for a moment.”
During Hartnett’s time out of the spotlight, Edgerton and Hartnett have started a family, marrying in 2021 and having three children.