Josh Hartnett facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Josh Hartnett
Hartnett in 2014
Born	Joshua Daniel Hartnett (1978-07-21) July 21, 1978 (age 46) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Alma mater	State University of New York at Purchase
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1997–present
Spouse(s)	Tamsin Egerton (m. 2021)
Children	4

Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He started his acting journey on the TV show Cracker in 1997. Soon after, he became a popular teen idol by starring in many movies. Some of his famous early films include Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), The Faculty (1998), The Virgin ... (1999), and Pearl Harbor (2001).

Josh Hartnett continued to act in many different roles throughout the 2000s. He appeared in films like Sin City (2005) and The Black Dahlia (2006). More recently, he has been seen in the fantasy TV series Penny Dreadful (2014–2016). He also had roles in an episode of Black Mirror in 2023 and the TV show The Bear in 2024. In 2023, he was part of the award-winning film Oppenheimer.

Early Life and Education

Josh Hartnett was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota. He was raised by his father, Daniel Thomas Hartnett, and his stepmother, Molly. He has three younger brothers and a sister. Josh went to Nativity of Our Lord Catholic School.

When he was 16, Josh played football at Minneapolis South High School. However, a knee injury stopped him from playing. After that, he tried youth theater. He acted in plays like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. A talent scout noticed his acting skills.

Josh was first interested in becoming a painter. But while working at a video rental shop, he watched many movies. This made him decide he wanted to be a film actor instead.

After high school, in 1996, Josh moved to New York state. He attended the Conservatory of Theatre Arts & Film at the State University of New York at Purchase. He later moved to Los Angeles at the suggestion of his manager. This is where his acting career truly began.

Acting Career Highlights

Soon after arriving in Los Angeles, Josh Hartnett got a role in the TV drama Cracker. His first big movie was Halloween H20: 20 Years Later in 1998. In this film, he played the son of the main character, Laurie Strode. The movie did very well at the box office.

In 2001, he starred in the war drama Pearl Harbor. He also appeared in O, which was a modern version of William Shakespeare's play Othello. In 2002, he starred in the romantic comedy 40 Days and 40 Nights.

Around the early 2000s, Josh was asked to play Clark Kent / Superman for a movie. However, he turned down the role. He didn't want to commit to a character for ten years. He also considered playing Batman in Batman Begins, but that role went to Christian Bale.

Josh was named one of Teen People magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21" in 1999. He was also on People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" list in 2002. During this time, he was seen as a major teen idol. But he wasn't always comfortable with this huge public attention. This feeling made him choose roles in smaller films later on.

Hartnett in 2011

His later films included Hollywood Homicide (2003) and Sin City (2005). In 2006, he starred in The Black Dahlia. In this movie, he played a detective investigating a famous real-life murder. He had wanted to be in this film for five years because he liked the story.

In 2007, Josh appeared in 30 Days of Night, a film based on a graphic novel. He played a small-town sheriff in this movie.

In 2008, Josh acted in the play Rain Man in London. He also became the first male celebrity to represent the Emporio Armani fragrance, "Diamonds for Men." He has been on the covers of many magazines like Vanity Fair and GQ.

In 2009, Josh Hartnett produced the music video for the song "Pursuit of Happiness" by rapper Kid Cudi. He also acted in several international and independent films.

From 2014 to 2016, he starred as Ethan Chandler in the TV series Penny Dreadful. His character was later revealed to be Lawrence Talbot / the Wolfman. In 2017, he starred in and produced the survival film 6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain.

In 2020, he played Canadian journalist Victor Malarek in the crime drama Target Number One. He then worked with director Guy Ritchie on the films Wrath of Man (2021) and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre (2023). In 2022, Josh was cast as Ernest Lawrence in Christopher Nolan's film Oppenheimer, which won many awards.

In 2023, he joined the sixth season of Black Mirror. In 2024, he appeared in the third season of The Bear. He is also set to appear in the movie Verity in December 2024 and the action film Fight or Flight in 2025.

Activism and Causes

Josh Hartnett has supported various important causes. In 2007, he took a break from filming to help promote the green lifestyle campaign by Global Cool. This campaign encourages people to live in ways that help the environment.

In 2011, Josh became involved with the USAID and Ad Council's FWD campaign. This effort aimed to raise awareness about the severe drought in East Africa that year. He appeared in TV and internet ads to share facts about the crisis.

In 2012, Josh also joined Barack Obama's campaign in Minnesota. He appeared at events like the Minnesota Greater Together Youth Summit. He formally supported the President on the official campaign YouTube channel.

Personal Life

Josh Hartnett started a relationship with English actress Tamsin Egerton in 2012. They have four children together. He shared that he married Tamsin in November 2021. They live in southeast England.

Josh has spoken about fame. He said that being at the very top of the acting world was "uncomfortable" for him. He believes that trying to stay at the top can lead to unhappiness. He once took a 15-month break from acting to think about whether it was the right path for him.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	Halloween H20: 20 Years Later	John Tate	Nominated – Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Male Newcomer Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Male Performance
	The Faculty	Zeke Tyler	Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Performance by a Younger Actor
1999	The Virgin ...	Trip Fontaine
2000	Here on Earth	Jasper Arnold	Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Star
2001	Black Hawk Down	SSG Matt Eversmann	Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Acting Ensemble (shared with the cast) Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Action Movie Actor
	Blow Dry	Brian Allen
	O	Hugo Goulding
	Pearl Harbor	Danny Walker	Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Male Performance Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor Nominated – Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Ben Affleck)
	Short6	Gianni	A compilation of six cinematic shorts
	Town & Country	Tom Stoddard
2002	40 Days and 40 Nights	Matt Sullivan	Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry (shared with Shannyn Sossamon)
2003	Hollywood Homicide	K. C. Calden
	Zéro Un	The Neighbor	A compilation of ten cinematic shorts produced by Luc Besson
2004	Wicker Park	Matthew Simon
2005	Mozart and the Whale	Donald Morton
	Sin City	The Salesman / The Lady Killer
	Stories of Lost Souls	The Neighbor
2006	The Black Dahlia	Dwight "Bucky" Bleichert
	Lucky Number Slevin	Slevin Kelevra	Won – Best Acting Performance Male (tied with Peter Falk) – 2006 Milan International Film Festival
2007	Resurrecting the Champ	Erik Kernan
	Stories USA	Gianni
	30 Days of Night	Eben Oleson	Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Horror Movie Actor
2008	August	Tom Sterling	Also producer Spectrum – 2008 Sundance Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema – 2008 Seattle International Film Festival Narrative Feature Films – 2008 Brooklyn International Film Festival Horizons – 2008 Karlovy Vary International Film Festival International Section – 2008 Oldenburg International Film Festival World Cinema – 2008 Flanders International Film Festival Ghent Spirit of Freedom: Dramatic – 2008 Bahamas International Film Festival
2009	I Come with the Rain	Kline
2010	Bunraku	The Drifter
2011	Girl Walks into a Bar	Sam Salazar
	Stuck Between Stations	Paddy
2013	The Lovers	James Stewart / Jay Fennel
2014	Parts per Billion	Len
2015	Wild Horses	KC Briggs
2017	Oh Lucy!	John Woodruff
	The Ottoman Lieutenant	Jude
	6 Below: Miracle on the Mountain	Eric LeMarque	Also producer
2019	She's Missing	Ren
2020	Inherit the Viper	Kip Riley
	Target Number One	Victor Malarek	Also known as Most Wanted
	Valley of the Gods	John Ecas
2021	Wrath of Man	Dave "Boy Sweat" Hancock
	Ida Red	Wyatt Walker
2023	Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre	Danny Francesco
	Oppenheimer	Ernest Lawrence	Won — Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Acting Ensemble Won — Satellite Award for Best Cast – Motion Picture Won — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2024	Trap	Cooper Abbott
2025	Fight or Flight	Lucas Reyes	Post-production
TBA	The Long Home	TBA	Completed

Television

Stage

Music videos

Awards and Nominations

• 2023: Won – Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture / Screen Actors Guild Awards for Oppenheimer
• 2010: Won – Ischia International Arts Academy Acting Award / Ischia Global Film & Music Fest, Italy
• 2009: Won – Outstanding Environmentalist / 21st Century Leaders Awards, Qatar
• 2007: Won – GQ Männer des Jahres (GQ Men of the Year) / GQ magazine, Germany
• 2002: Won – ShoWest Award Male Star of Tomorrow / ShoWest Convention, USA

See also

In Spanish: Josh Hartnett para niños