This was my inspiration for the thread:



I think we have this idea that Hartnett made a few films twenty years ago and then nothing until Trap. It's just not true. He's worked throughout and in some great films with some great directors. He was also part of Penny Dreadful which took three years out of his movie career. He sure squandered a few years making boilerplate action films, though.

I did not include Oppenheimer or Sin City as his roles are minor, but I did include Penny Dreadful as it's a major project that I felt some would choose because of Hartnett.

I think I'll watch Trap before voting, but I also haven't seen most of his stuff from 2008 till now.

Two of my favorites are The Faculty and Wrath of Man however.

Idk if 40 Day and 40 Nights was good, but memorable concept I guess. Lucky Number Slevin was cool?

I also felt his role was minor there so didn't include it. In my opinion it's the best film he's been in, though.

Yeah, it's not a "Hartnett film", but I wanted to give it a shout out at least.

Poor excel might not be checking Cinemania anymore

Yeah, I counted on him pushing this to two pages, lol

Black Hawk Down is the best movie up there, yet you could have thrown in any good looking white dude into that role and it would have been nearly the same movie.

So I think his best performance is actually 40 Days and 40 Nights. A character who has so much sex that he decides to give it up for lent could have gone down as one of the most obnoxious in the history of cinema. Yet Hartnett made him sympathetic the entire time.

Clearly his best leading film is Black Hawk Down. His best performance? Probably Trap.

But be serious, Josh Hartnett in Pearl Harbor is one of the most attractive male characters ever filmed, his face made the entire film feel way too glossy and dolled up. I read a comment somewhere which said his character in that film was probably the inspiration for buccal fat surgery becoming a trend in the 2000s

bruh would be ideal at like 5 different characters for the batman 2

Trap
40 Days and 40 Nights
Lucky Number Slevin

God they’re all pretty terrible. Probably trap or even Hollywood homicide, him and ford at least had decent chemistry and elevated the horrible material. Can’t count BHD, that’s an ensemble of forgettable big name actors but that was kind of the point. The action is the story.

You ever find an actor working 20+ years with not one memorable role. Van damme and segal even have career defining roles. Not hartnett.

Actually no, I take that back because it’s not on the list. I think he’s the highlight of the underrated The Faculty. That’s my pick.

An interesting note is that, at quick glance, it seem like he has left himself age completely naturally? His face looks completely filled out, doesn't even appear to use teeth whitener?

Actually yes this is probably true. He is very natural in both 1998 horror movies he is, though in the Falculty he shows some real charisma. This is supposedly the film Bruckheimer saw and said "yep".

Second film in the poll.

Eh I don't think the role was quite that easy. It's an ensemble and that specific role required a tricky balance of self assurance and self doubt, alert but reflective, and needed to match the vibes coming from Bana and Sizemore. The only remotely weak link in that cast is the typically atrocious Orlando Bloom.



This is why Josh would have made such a great early 2000s Superman back in the day. The idea of being this superhuman physically who mentally is actually extremely normal and low key. It was fairly clear back in 2002 but it's definitely clear now, that Hartnett was never, ever the 'player' type who is banging every girl everywhere he goes. I think he actually showed up to the oscars at the absolute peak of his popularity with his very average, plain Jane girlfriend from his high school theater class. He is more midwestern and too sincere to live that lifestyle.

Also think that's why his charisma and style of acting was never going to be as noticeable as a Heath Ledger or Sean William Scott of those days, just a very different energy.

What in the world are you talking about?

I’ve never met anyone who loves someone with probably the most forgettable acting career of all time, how is this anyone’s favorite actor of all time? This isn’t even an iconic hartnett role thread because there isn’t, he never had one role that can be considered memorable. It’s just a best of his, and his best roles are in C+\ B- films. He’s not even at that Tom Arnold in True Lies or David Arquette in Scream level. Pearl Harbor and even BHD are completely forgotten, and he wasn’t good in them.

Personally I thought he was very good in both, but as you also said I think many young studs might've been able to give those performances. That doesn't mean I don't think he's good in them and has something special about him. Other young studs are not usually good actors, like Channing Tatum. So Hartnett does deserve credit for his acting chops. He's no Jake Gyllenhaal, sure, but he's still a decent actor. He adds something to BHD and especially PH.

This is a confusing post. Christian Bale is my favorite actor by a mile. I do think he has had a very interesting career in terms of what would have been versus what it ultimately become, that seem to grasped more by some than others. How many other young, under 25, ultra famous actors were borderline offered the keys to Hollywood and intentionally said no? Never argue over whether it was deserved or not, but the people who try deny peak Hartnett's fame level read like the old internet hating fanboys of the early 2000s who detested every young, attractive actor (until Heath Ledger did BB Mountain and proved he was legit). Hartnett disappeared, basically, from high profile projects for a good 15+ years. He was trending all weekend on Twitter when Trap came out.

Re: Thegun and Algren "Wasn't good in them - is this referring to film critics? Hartnett was definitely considered good in BHD. The reviews from 2001 are easy to find. This is a silly, non arguable point. Everyone sans Orlando Bloom is good - or better - in that film. Oscar worthy? of course not, but he by no means struggled. His role in Harbor was definitely more mixed depending on how you ask, but he was definitely more liked in that film then Ben Affleck was

What may be most noteworthy here is that during his peak fame level, the media treated him more like a pop star singer than actor. His fame level was definitely disproportionately high than what he had actually earned in film. 2001-2002 he was every bit as known, if not even more popular, than Justin Timberlake within teenagers and young adults. He is a film actor whose career is more akin to a 2-3 hit wonder in the music scene, like someone who comes out and is everywhere and liked overnight and then just goes away 2 years later. Shawn Mendes actually looks to be following a very similar arc.

Acting chops wise, he has always been up and down. Hartnett is outright good and very natural in The Faculty, Virgin Suicides, BHD, etc; he was perfectly fine in Pearl Harbor and was decidedly less cringe worthy than Ben Affleck with the films ridiculous melodrama. Black Dahlia remains of the worst movies I have seen. Sleven is an enjoyable movie.