Josh Hartnett
Hartnett attending Comic Con to promote 30 Days of Night, 2007
Birth name	Joshua Daniel Hartnett
Born	July 21, 1978 (1978-07-21) (age 29) U.S.

Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He came to fame after his first film role, in 1998's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and has since become a leading Hollywood actor, having starred in Black Hawk Down, Here on Earth, Pearl Harbor, Wicker Park, Lucky Number Slevin, and most recently The Black Dahlia.

Biography

Early life

Hartnett was raised mostly by his father, Daniel Hartnett (a building manager), and stepmother, Molly (an artist).[1] Hartnett has three younger half-siblings, named Jessica, Jake (of St. Paul band Look Down) and Joe. He grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and was raised Catholic,[2] attending Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Grade School, where he played Huckleberry Finn in an eighth grade production. He later attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School before switching to South High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from which he graduated in June 1996. Hartnett played football in high school, but stopped because of a broken left knee.

Hartnett attended SUNY in Purchase, New York. His first job was working at a McDonald's. He got his start acting at Youth Performance Company in Minneapolis.

Career

In April 1997, Hartnett made his screen debut playing the role of Michael Fitzgerald on the short-lived television series, Cracker. He also performed in small plays and on national television commercials, before being cast in his first feature film, playing the son of Jamie Lee Curtis' character in Halloween: H20, which was released on August 5, 1998 and performed well at the box office.

Hartnett has since developed a steady film career, having appeared in several Hollywood films, including The Faculty, Black Hawk Down, Lucky Number Slevin and Pearl Harbor. He was originally set to play the role of Tino in Deuces Wild, but dropped out to star in Pearl Harbor. Hartnett was chosen as one of Teen People Magazine's 21 Hottest Stars Under 21 in 1999, one of Teen People's 25 Hottest Stars under 25 and one of People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, both in 2002, and was voted Bliss Magazine's 3rd sexiest male.

Hartnett's most recent film is the drama-mystery The Black Dahlia, in which he plays a detective investigating the notorious real-life murder of actress Elizabeth Short. Hartnett was cast in the role five years before the film was produced, and remained committed to appearing in the film because he liked the subject matter.[3] Among his 2007 roles are Resurrecting the Champ, a drama also starring Samuel L. Jackson, and the graphic novel-based 30 Days of Night, in which he plays a small-town sheriff; Hartnett describes the film as "supernatural, but kind of a western".[4] Another film, The Prince of Cool, in which Hartnett may play trumpet player Chet Baker, is in the early stages of development and may begin filming in 2007.[4]

Filmography

• Cracker (1997)
• Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
• Debutante (1998)
• The Faculty (1998)
• The Virgin Suicides (1999)
• Here on Earth (2000)
• Member (2001)
• Blow Dry (2001)
• Town & Country (2001)
• Pearl Harbor (2001)
• O (2001)
• Black Hawk Down (2001)
• The Same (2001)
• 40 Days and 40 Nights (2002)
• Hollywood Homicide (2003)
• Wicker Park (2004)
• Mozart and the Whale (2005)
• Sin City (2005)
• The Black Dahlia (2006)
• Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
• 30 Days of Night (2007)
• Resurrecting the Champ (2007)
• August (2008)
• I Come with the Rain (2008)

References

External links

• Josh Hartnett at the Internet Movie Database
• Josh Hartnett Fansite: Lucky Number Josh
• Josh Hartnett interview
• Josh Hartnett interview on Resurrecting the Champ at TheCinemaSource.com
• Video interview Sundance 2007 on independentfilm.com