Stalkers Kept Josh Hartnett Away From Hollywood

Actors are entitled to private lives. Yes, they work in the public eye. If they choose to spend more of their time with the public, that’s their prerogative. Still, there is a reasonable right to privacy that they are allowed as… human beings. Some people seek to invade that privacy, often attempting to profit from it. Others think they are owed a peek. Then, there are stalkers.

Stalking is as serious as it is dangerous. Stalkers can obsess over people and make them feel unsafe and abused. This kind of unwanted attention can often lead to violence. Having a stalker can have lasting effects on someone’s life. To be clear, stalking is not a problem exclusive to celebrities. However, it certainly has impacted famous folks often. As was the case with Josh Hartnett.

Hartnett burst onto the scene in 1998. He starred in the OG Legacy sequel, Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. That earned him a nomination for Favorite Male Newcomer at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards. From there, it was off to the races. Hartnett starred in numerous big-budget movies and flirted with several others (more on that in a second). Still, after about a decade, he began appearing on the silver screen less and less.

It turns out that Hartnett was motivated to step away due to some unwanted fans. “People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy. There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me,” Hartnett told the UK Guardian. “A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison.”

Hartnett was not interested in this aspect of fame, he explained to the paper. “There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill,” he said. That may also explain why he avoided two high-profile superhero roles. They were characters that have been the building blocks for cinematic universes. To Hartnett, they were a cautionary tale.

The roles in question were Superman and Batman. He turned down the former (twice) and only chatted with Christopher Nolan about the latter. “I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work. And there was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up,” Hartnett said. “And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.”

He did have some regret about not working with Nolan. “I recognize the missed opportunity to work with a guy like Chris.” Still, Hartnett has used it as a learning experience. “And I’ve figured out that as much as you’re worried about curating your career to things you’re interested in, I don’t believe that’s the most important thing any more. It’s about finding people who you really trust.”

Hartnett is back in Hollywood and hopefully not dealing with any more stalkers. He’s working with interesting directors, like Christopher Nolan and M. Night Shyamalan. Thank goodness for both.