Josh Hartnett Broke Down Why It Took Him So Long to Make His Hollywood Comeback

Over the past few years, Josh Hartnett, known for his heartthrob roles in movies like The Faculty, Black Hawk Down and The Virgin Suicides, has made quite a comeback. In addition to his roles in hit movies like Oppenheimer and hit shows like Black Mirror, he’s also preparing to star in M. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming thriller, Trap.

But before Trap is all over the news, with viewers gripping to their seats in movie theaters, Hartnett is explaining how his Hollywood hiatus and comeback really went down.

According to him, calling his time away from the spotlight a “break from acting” wouldn’t be the right definition for it. Instead of starring in blockbusters, however, he was acting in smaller, low-budget independent movies like Mozart and the Whale, Resurrecting the Champ and The Black Dahlia.

“It wasn’t like I was off somewhere, mercurially working on something that was not ever… I wanted them to be successful. They were very worthy films,” he told Men’s Health. “They had every chance to break through. They just, for whatever reason, didn’t.”

The decision to step away from the spotlight was intentional too. “I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “And there was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up. And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.”

“I never wanted to chase the hottest property and be one of the guys who could have gotten it but didn’t get it, or whatever,” he continued. “I don’t want to be a part of that game.”

But, over time, Hartnett knew he had to take the reigns of his own career and start going after some big roles again. He then left his longtime team and signed with a whole other agency. Sure enough, he soon connected with director Guy Richie, who eventually cast him in Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre. The rest, as we all know, just kept on coming.

“As soon as people see that you’re working in movies that are getting more attention, you become more viable,” he explained. With Trap right around the corner on August 2, it’ll be hard not to notice Hartnett.