For a time in the 1990s and early 2000s, it seemed like Josh Hartnett was destined to be an A-list celebrity. He starred in Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, and others. However, the actor disappeared and vanished from the limelight. Only recently has Hartnett returned to big-budget films. What exactly happened?
Well, according to Hartnett, fans are to blame. He told The Guardian he couldn't tell the difference between "happy Josh and unhappy Josh." The actor had some strange encounter with fans that made him want to run for the hills.
"People's attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy," Hartnett said "Well, look, I don't want to give this a lot of weight. There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me."
The straw that broke the camels back was when someone threatened his life. He said, "A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison."
'Pearl Harbor' Star Talks Career
Hartnett added, "There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn't going to be grist for the mill." The Pearl Harbor star now lives in the United Kingdom on a marriage visa.
He married British actress Tamsin Egerton in 2021. The two have four children. The Pearl Harbor star is living a quiet live for the most part."This is all brand new to me," he said. "I never would have expected it. And time passes quickly. With four children, you have so much to do. In a way, less is happening. But more of the important stuff is happening."
He added, "My oldest daughter is eight and a half now - that feels like it happened in the last two years to me. So I'm trying to soak up as much as possible."
However, despite leaving Hollywood, Hartnett maintains a love for acting. "I just didn't want my life to be swallowed up by my work," he said. "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."
