Josh Hartnett is opening up about his exodus from Los Angeles at the height of his stardom more than two decades ago.
The 46-year-old Minnesota native was just 19 when he arrived in Los Angeles, and quickly started landing roles, with his film debut as Laurie Strode’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) son in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later.
While his career skyrocketed with roles in Black Hawk Down, Pearl Harbor, 40 Days and 40 Nights and others, he moved back to his home state in the early 2000s.
Now residing in England with his wife Tamsin Egerton, Hartnett opened up about his L.A. departure while promoting his new film Trap with The Guardian.
While he said there were many factors as to why he left, a number of stalking incidents paved the way for the move.
Josh Hartnett is opening up about his exodus from Los Angeles at the height of his stardom more than two decades ago.
Now residing in England with his wife Tamsin Egerton, Hartnett opened up about his L.A. departure while promoting his new film Trap with The Guardian
Now residing in England with his wife Tamsin Egerton, Hartnett opened up about his L.A. departure while promoting his new film Trap with The Guardian
When asked if there was a certain moment that triggered the move back home, he admitted, ‘People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy.’
When asked to elaborate, Hartnett insisted, ‘Well, look, I don’t want to give this a lot of weight. There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me.’
Another scary incident involved, ‘a guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison.’
Hartnett was 27 when he decided to move back to Minnesota, 19 years ago, adding, ‘There were lots of things. It was a weird time. And I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.’
He admitted that at the time ‘I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work. And there was a notion at that time you just kind of give it all up.’
He added, ‘And you saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.’
The actor and his family now live permanently in the U.K.’s Hampshire countryside, revealing how much he prefers this small village life.
He said that when he was living in either New York or Los Angeles, ‘people only want to talk about your career,’ but in his village, ‘nobody cares.’
When asked if there was a certain moment that triggered the move back home, he admitted, ‘People’s attention to me at the time was borderline unhealthy’
When asked to elaborate, Hartnett insisted, ‘Well, look, I don’t want to give this a lot of weight. There were incidents. People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me’
Trap – where he plays a father taking his daughter to a concert that is secretly a trap set for him since he lives a double life as a serial killer – hits theaters August 2
He is in the U.K. on a marriage visa, which means he can leave and work for 180 days a year on a movie and come home.
‘This is all brand new to me. I never would have expected it. And time passes quickly. With four children, you have so much to do,’ Hartnett says of his family.
‘In a way, less is happening. But more of the important stuff is happening. My oldest daughter is eight and a half now – that feels like it happened in the last two years to me. So I’m trying to soak up as much as possible,’ he admits.
Trap – where he plays a father taking his daughter to a concert that is secretly a trap set for him since he lives a double life as a serial killer – hits theaters August 2.