What Happened To Josh Hartnett

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What happened to Josh Hartnett, the popular American actor from late '90s and early 2000s? Born and raised in Minnesota, Hartnett rose to fame on the ABC series Cracker, and subsequently became a prominent figure in Young Hollywood. In recent years, though, he's seemingly been absent from pop culture conversations, leaving movie fans to wonder if he's still landing mainstream roles.

Due to Hartnett's television success, he didn't necessarily have to prove himself through bit parts like many young actors and actresses do. Hartnett made his feature debut in the 1998 franchise film Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, co-starring opposite none other than the original Laurie Strode, Jamie Lee Curtis. Over the next five years, Hartnett established somewhat of a cinematic legacy through high-profile movies like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, all the while becoming a proper heartthrob via roles in The Faculty, The Virgin Suicides, and 40 Days and 40 Nights. With his soft-spoken ways and natural charm, Hartnett succeeded by portraying relatable and sympathetic movie characters.

During the second wave of Hartnett's career, he focused on hard-hitting dramas. Bu after co-starring with Harrison Ford in the box office flop Hollywood Homicide, a buddy cop film, it seems that Hartnett recognized a changing of the tides and thus latched onto grittier features like Wicker Park and Sin City. Despite a starring role in the low-key hit 30 Days of Night, Hartnett lost some career momentum upon headlining Brian De Palma's 2006 flop The Black Dahlia, a Hollywood history film that looked appealing on paper but ultimately didn't resonate with moviegoers. For what it's worth, that's often the case with De Palma — the director of classics like Scarface, The Untouchables, and Mission: Impossible (along with duds like Snake Eyes and Femme Fatale). By 2006, Hartnett was only 28 years old, but had seemingly ended his 10-year reign as one of the industry's most promising, or at least popular, stars. With the rise of social media, a new wave of actors took roles that once would've gone to Hartnett.


Hartnett returned to glory during the mid-2010s upon portraying The Wolf Man in Showtime's Penny Dreadful. In fact, Fangoria honored him for three consecutive years with Best Actor nominations. Oddly enough, this success didn't lead to bigger movie roles, even though Hartnett has indeed sustained a steady career in the industry. Like many performers, he seems to be more invested in challenging roles and being selective. Hartnett never disappeared — he's just been appearing in smaller productions like The Ottoman Lieutenant (2016), Oh Lucy! (2017), and She's Missing (2019).

During a March 2020 interview, Hartnett spoke about the financial challenges of making independent films, and stated that he doesn't have any past regrets about past roles. Hartnett cites the "labor of love" when referencing his participation in small-budget films, and he also addresses the "Wild West" nature of the current movie industry. Of course, so much has now changed since Hartnett made those statements while promoting a theatrical release at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in America.

In the present, Hartnett has two children with actress Tamsin Egerton. He headlines the 2020 crime films Inherit the Viper and Most Wanted, and even co-stars opposite the acclaimed John Malkovich in Valley of the Gods. Expect Josh Hartnett to reach the next phase of his career upon appearing in Guy Ritchie's Cash Truck, an action thriller scheduled for a 2021 release.