Josh Hartnett
Josh Hartnett (born on July 21, 1978) is an American actor and producer, best known for his heartthrob image in the early 2000s.
Many consider his acting skills to be debatable, but some of his early performances (namely, Trip Fontaine in The Virgin Suicides and Hugo in O) were well received by the critics, proving that the guy was not just a pretty face. Sadly, he has soon became every girl's celebrity crush and got swallowed up in the hype that brought in lame movies and lazy acting, culminating with 2001 disaster Pearl Harbor.
Known for his 6-foot, 3-inch frame, deep voice and a prominent beauty mark on his neck, Hartnett was considered one of the main teen sex symbols (and one of the few reasons people actually went to see Pearl Harbor). He's also more famous for his relationships with celebrity beauties, such as Scarlett Johansson and Rihanna, than for his acting achievements.
After the hype has died out, Josh opted for a change in his career, turning to smaller, indie films or more serious directors. Some of these attempts proved to be huge flops (such as Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia), but he has landed several decent performances. Probably his best performance to date was in a little-known film, Mozart and the Whale, where he played a character with Asperger's Syndrome, and his excellent performance in the sadly underrated Lucky Number Slevin.
His films include:
- Halloween H20: 20 Years Later. (1998)
- The Faculty. (1998)
- The Virgin Suicides. (1999)
- Blow Dry (marked by an atrocious attempt at a Yorkshire accent). (2001)
- Pearl Harbor. (2001)
- O (2001)
- Black Hawk Down. (2001)
- 40 Days and 40 Nights (in which his character was raped by a woman). (2002)
- Hollywood Homicie. (2003)
- Wicker Park. (2004).
- Sin City. (2005)
- Mozart And The Whale. (2005)
- Lucky Number Slevin. (2005)
- The Black Dahlia. (2006)
- 30 Days of Night. (2007)
- August. (2008)
- I Come With the Rain. (2009)
- Bunraku. (2010)
He provides examples of:
- Big Ol' Eyebrows
- Celeb Crush: Especially back in 2001.
- Dull Surprise: His early acting style is often described as wooden and uninspired.
- Estrogen Brigade Bait
- Fan Nickname: Hotnett. He reportedly hates it.
- He Really Can Act: Mozart And The Whale and Lucky Number Slevin. Too bad nobody saw them.
- Hollywood Hype Machine: And a strong one indeed. He was called the Next Big Thing in the early 2000s, but he gradually vanished from the spotlight and today is known for smaller, indie films.
- Old Shame: 40 Days and 40 Nights is still hailed as one of the most sexist, offensive sex "comedies" of all time.
- He doesn't seem terribly fond of Halloween H20.
- Money, Dear Boy: Apparently, the only reason he agreed to do Pearl Harbor. Subverted later, when he turned down a $10 million offer for the Superman movie.
- Shirtless Scene: Too many to count. 40 Days and 40 Nights feature several ones, and he spends good amount of screen time in Lucky Number Slevin wearing nothing but a towel.
- Tall, Dark and Handsome
- Vocal Dissonance: Some people claimed his voice was too deep for his cute boy face.