Josh Hartnett, one of the leads in ‘Verity’ alongside Anne Hathaway and Dakota Johnson, has stayed away from big-budget films for almost two decades. In a recent interview, Hartnett opened up about the role, his early days in the industry, his sudden rise in popularity, and how he stepped away from big-budget films after starring in movies like ‘Pearl Harbor’ and ‘Black Hawk Down’.
Josh Hartnett opens up about stepping away from mainstream cinema
In the early 2000s, Hartnett starred in many blockbuster hits and was on the rise to become Hollywood’s next big heartthrob. However, at 22, the star chose to walk away and keep a low profile for all these years until his work on ‘Verity.’Talking about his career on the latest episode of ‘Scene Stealers,’ the actor shared that he consciously decided to step away from acting and working in big-budget films over the years after his massive success with ‘Pearl Harbor,’ ‘Town & Country,’ and ‘Black Hawk Down.’ He worked with some of the biggest stars in the industry in these films, including Diane Keaton, Ben Affleck, Warren Beatty, and more. However, he felt that he did not know who he was at that young an age.The 48-year-old added, “I was on hiatus from people’s minds, I guess, which is fine. You know, in a way, it kind of gives me the ability to come back and be fresh again.” Hartnett earlier made his big return to mainstream cinema with ‘Oppenheimer,’ which was released in 2023 and starred the likes of Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Florence Pugh, Matt Damon, Ben Safdie, Robert Downey Jr., and more.Hartnett continued, “It was a little bit like I was everywhere, and I didn’t even know who I was yet. It wasn’t like I was rejecting it as a whole concept; what I was rejecting was that this is the only thing I want to do with my life. I was 22 years old when I finished Black Hawk Down. And I decided to take about a year off and wrote a screenplay.”The actor further opened up about working on films like ‘The Virgin Suicides’ and expressed that he had been looking to work on similar projects like that one. The 1999 film also starred Kirsten Dunst, Kathleen Turner, and James Woods and was directed by Sofia Coppola. He mentioned, “I loved making this movie.”
Josh Hartnett says some people were not happy with his decision
Further in the interview, he commented on how many people often start depending on you once you work in more big-budget and mainstream movies, and how many people were left unhappy with his decision when he stepped away.He commented, “When you’re being asked to do things like big film after big film, and you’ve got people that are relying on you—well, part of their income is relying on you doing big films—they tend to get frustrated when you decide to do movies for no money. And so, I kind of—I pushed myself out of the business side of the business for a while.”On the work front, Hartnett appeared in the 2025 action comedy film ‘Fight or Flight’ before his work on ‘Verity,’ and he already has another project he has started working on. Hartnett will next star in ‘White Lies,’ an upcoming drama film written and directed by Oliver Stone.
