Summary
- After a hiatus, Josh Hartnett returned to Hollywood in 2023 and starred in major productions like Oppenheimer and Black Mirror season 6.
- Hartnett's filmography includes iconic movies like 30 Days of Night, Lucky Number Slevin, Sin City, and Black Hawk Down.
- Oppenheimer, directed by Christopher Nolan, features Hartnett in a pivotal leading role and is considered his best movie yet.
After becoming one of the most notable young actors of the late 1990s and 2000s, Josh Hartnett has gone on to appear in more than 50 films and television series. The 45-year-old actor made a big comeback to the Hollywood spotlight in 2023 after taking an extended hiatus during which he mostly took smaller acting roles in independent and foreign movies to spend more time with his family in Surrey, England. Hartnett appeared in several major productions in 2023 including Oppenheimer and Black Mirror season 6.
Hartnett rose to prominence after making his feature film debut in 1998's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later as John, the son of Jamie Lee Curtis' iconic Laurie character. He would then appear in several major film productions throughout the late 90s and early 2000s including Michael Bay's notable 2001 blockbuster Pearl Harbor, the romantic comedy 40 Days and 40 Nights, and the 2004 mystery/drama Wicker Man. Hartnett has also produced several projects, including the music video for "Pursuit of Happiness" by rapper Kid Cudi.
Related
Josh Hartnett returns in 2023 after once turning down the role of Christopher Nolan's Batman, ending an unofficial 14 year hiatus from Hollywood.
10 30 Days Of Night
2007
One of Hartnett's most iconic films is the 2007 cult horror classic 30 Days of Night, directed by David Slade (Black Mirror: Bandersnatch). Josh Hartnett stars in the lead role as Eben Oleson in this vampire action horror set in a remote Alaskan town that is sent into 30 straight days of darkness. The unique setting is one of the reasons why 30Days of Night is one of the most memorable vampire horrors of the 21st century. Hartnett gives an excellent performance alongside costars Melissa George and Ben Foster.
9 Wrath Of Man
2021
For a film that Hartnett wasn't even supposed to be in initially, Wrath of Man ends up being one of the best movies that Hartnett has taken part in. The sleek and visually immersive action-crime thriller stars franchise powerhouse Jason Statham, Holy McCallany, and Scott Eastwood alongside Hartnett's role as Boy Sweat Dave. The Guy Ritchie movie offers one of the best new movies in the heist genre in recent memory and even features a cameo from rapper Post Malone.
8 Mozart & The Whale
2005
The 2005 drama Mozart & The Whale is one of Hartnett's most underrated performances that truly demonstrated his range as an actor. Hartnett and costar Radha Mitchell play two people with Asperger's syndrome who fall in love and form a powerful yet tumultuous relationship. Hartnett excels in one of his most complicated and challenging roles, which is wrapped around an inspirational and heartwarming unconventional love story.
Related
Josh Hartnett’s Wrath Of Man Character Wasn’t In The Script
Josh Hartnett reveals that his character in Wrath of Man wasn't in the original script and had to be developed on the fly in production.
7 The Faculty
1998
This 1998 horror classic is likely one of the main movies that people think about when they see the name Josh Hartnett, as it was one of his early works that helped solidify his larger-than-life Hollywood status back then. The Faculty is a purely fun and entertaining movie experience that is even better to watch today than it was when it came out 25 years ago because of the added retrospective layer of 90s nostalgia. The film has a simple and wild premise, centering on a group of students who believe their teachers have become alien invaders.
6 Lucky Number Slevin
2006
Lucky Number Slevin is a mid-2000s classic action movie with a remarkable cast that includes Hartnett, Morgan Freeman, Bruce Willis, Lucy Liu, and Ben Kingsley. The highly stylized film from director Paul McGuigan still holds up to this day as a fast-paced thriller with interesting elements of a modern film noir. Hartnett stars as the titular protagonist Slevin who gets caught up in a web of conspiracy involving very powerful gangsters in this surprisingly great movie.
5 Oh Lucy!
2017
Oh Lucy! is arguably one of the lesser-known films that Hartnett has starred in but actually utilizes his character in a unique and engaging way. Set in Tokyo, Oh Lucy! tells the story of a disillusioned woman who finds a new life when she takes on an alter-ego through her English learning class and falls in love with her instructor. Hartnett plays the teacher named John who suddenly disappears, forcing the newly-formed Lucy to discover what happened to him in this magnificent comedy-drama.
Related
Oppenheimer Success Helps Break An 8-Year Box Office Curse For Universal
The titanic box office success of Christopher Nolan's epic biographical thriller Oppenheimer helps Universal break an 8-year box office curse.
4 Sin City
2005
Sin City is one of the most aesthetically innovative and iconic movies ever made and stars an incredible cast that includes Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba, Rosario Dawson, Benicio Del Toro, Carla Gugino, Nick Offerman, Elijah Wood, and Hartnett. The film is truly a one-of-a-kind viewing experience that should be seen by all fans of the action/comic book genre as well as followers of Hartnett. Sin City is often referred to as one of the best cinematic graphic novel adaptations of all time.
3 The Virgin Suicides
1999
The Virgin Suicides is another one of Hartnett's earliest works that he is most famous for. The dreamlike yet tragic film was the first directorial effort by Sofia Coppola (Lost in Translation, Priscilla). The coming-of-age teen drama has become a cult classic of the young adult genre and features a breakout role from Kirsten Dunst as one of five Lisbon sisters who become the point of obsession between a group of boys in a 1970s suburban town. The film does contain several scenes pertaining to suicide.
2 Black Hawk Down
2001
Black Hawk Down depicts the incredible true story of a tragic 1993 United States military operation in Somalia gone terribly wrong. Hartnett stars as one of the main soldiers who gets caught in a vicious gunfight that destroys two American Black Hawk helicopters. The intense Ridley Scott film is full of gripping action sequences and brilliant cinematography and sound effects and also stars an ensemble cast led by Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Sam Shepard, William Fichtner, and Jason Issacs.
1 Oppenheimer
2023
Josh Hartnett's best movie is arguably Christopher Nolan's best directorial effort, 2023's Oppenheimer. Hartnett plays a pivotal role in the epic film as fellow physicist Ernest Lawrence, a friend and colleague of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy). Nolan's film is a behemoth of an action-war biopic that chronicles the creation of the atomic bomb that led to the United States' victory in World War II. While there are dozens of extraordinary actors in Oppenheimer, Josh Hartnett shines in one of the key leading roles.
Oppenheimer
R
Drama
History
Biography
Oppenheimer is a film by Christopher Nolan, which follows the theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, the man behind the atomic bomb. Cillian Murphy will play the titular role, with the story based on the book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and Martin J. Sherwin.
- Release Date
- July 21, 2023
- Director
- Christopher Nolan
- Cast
- Cillian Murphy , Emily Blunt , Matt Damon , Robert Downey Jr. , Rami Malek , Florence Pugh
- Runtime
- 150 Minutes
- Writers
- Christopher Nolan
- Budget
- $100 Million
- Studio(s)
- Syncopy Inc. , Atlas Entertainment
- Distributor(s)
- Universal Pictures
