Josh Hartnett has revealed why he left the glitz and glamour of Hollywood prior to his eagerly anticipated return. The 46-year-old heartthrob, who was a major box office draw in the late '90s and early 2000s, chose to take a step back from Tinseltown to pursue more independent projects. He also stated it was to try to preserve his "sanity".
In a candid chat with Julia Stiles, the popular actor spilled the beans, saying: "I never really lived in LA. Even when we were making 'O', I was in Minnesota, New York , nowhere, because I was living from set to set." He continued opening up during the chat for Interview magazine, revealing the personal journey behind his decision: "I drove my car down from Minnesota to shoot 'O' and then drove back after that.
But the choice to step back from the industry had more to do with just plain sanity." The lure of fame and the risk of losing touch with his "community" were concerns that weighed heavily on Josh's mind. He also admitted that the allure of fame didn't bring him the "satisfaction" he craved.
Now settled in the UK with his wife Tamsin Egerton , Josh reflected: "I wanted to be myself amongst people that I knew, so I was able to revert back to my family and friends in Minnesota." He concluded with a reflection on his quest for fulfilment, admitting that after a certain amount of time chasing a goal, he grew to realise that achieving these things wasn't going to give him back the satisfaction he was craving and had hoped for. Instead, he realised he needed something else to "fill that gap" and confessed that "community" is what fills this for him.
"Achievement is great in any walk of life," he said. "It's a reason to get up in the morning. But the thing that really holds you is your community.
I felt that I was kind of rootless at that time, so I wanted to find that community." Josh initially featured in hit movies such as Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, while also reportedly turning down on offer to play Superman twice. Despite taking a hiatus from acting, he returned to the big screen last year in Oppenheimer.
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