Bio
Josh Hartnett is an American actor and producer best known for his roles in films such as The Faculty, The Virgin Suicides, Pearl Harbor, O, Black Hawk Down, 40 Days and 40 Nights, and 30 Days of Night.
He also has a starring role as Ethan Chandler, a charming American who finds himself trapped in the darkest corners of Victorian London, where his charm and brash ways are catnip to the ladies, in the television horror series Penny Dreadful.
Hartnett was born in San Francisco and raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He first came to audiences' attention as Michael 'Fitz' Fitzgerald in the television series Cracker.
He made his feature film debut in 1998, co-starring with Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween: H20. That same year, he received an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Breakthrough Performance. Also in 1998, Hartnett starred in The Faculty, directed by Robert Rodriguez.
In 1999, he starred in the critically acclaimed black comedy The Virgin Suicides opposite Kirsten Dunst, Sofia Coppola's directorial debut.
In 2001, Hartnett hit a stride by starring in three features: he portrayed the antagonist in the film O, a modern day version of Othello. His portrayal of the dark and dangerous character Hugo earned him widespread praise. He then landed a role in the Jerry Bruckheimer blockbuster Pearl Harbor, which earned more than $1-billion worldwide. He segued to Morocco where he starred in Black Hawk Down for director Ridley Scott, again, a Jerry Bruckheimer production.
In 2002, the National Theater Owners awarded him with the ShoWest 2002 Male Star of Tomorrow Award.
Hartnett starred in Wicker Park opposite Diane Kruger and Rose Byrne for director Paul McGuigan; Sin City for director Robert Rodriguez; and Mozart and the Whale, written by Ron Bass. He also starred in Lucky Number Slevin with Morgan Freeman and Bruce Willis, and The Black Dahlia for director Brian De Palma, opposite Scarlett Johansson.
Hartnett also starred in Resurrecting the Champ opposite Samuel L. Jackson, directed by Rod Lurie, and in 30 Days of Night for director David Slade.
In 2008, Hartnett was seen in the independent drama August, which first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Also that year, he starred as Charlie Babbit in the stage adaptation of Rain Man in London's West End at the Apollo Theatre alongside Adam Godley.
Additional film credits include Hollywood Homicide, 40 Days and 40 Nights, Blow Dry, Town and Country, and Here on Earth, I Come With the Rain, and Bunraku.
Other films include the Roland Joffe-directed film Singularity and Parts Per Billion, co-starring opposite Teresa Palmer and Rosario Dawson.