josh

Both darkly handsome and naturally talented, Josh Hartnett had the good fortune to begin his film career starring in not one, but two high-profile horror films blessed with the moniker of Miramax's Dimension Films and the golden touch of the unstoppable writing force that is Kevin Williamson. With no less than five films due out over the course of the next year, Hartnett is definitely one actor truly on the verge of hitting it big.
Raised in St. Paul, Minnesota, Hartnett's love of acting first drew him to local stage productions while he was still in high school. Shortly after graduating, he made his way to New York where he took part in the acting program at SUNY. Following work in commercials, Hartnett's first major role was that of Robert Pastorelli's troubled son on the CBS drama series Cracker. The show lasted less than a season, but six months after its cancellation, Hartnett was seen on the big screen in his first starring role in Halloween: H20 in the crucial part of Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis' son John.
   The setting for this sequel to the popular series was 20 years after the original in which Curtis and her son are once again pursued by her psychotic brother Michael Myers on his favorite holiday. Though by the time H20 opened the horror genre had begun to run its course, the added prestige of the Halloween series name as well as decent reviews helped this film rise above a crowded horror market. Hartnett followed up his notable debut with a memorable performance as Zeke, one of the horribly attractive, endlessly clever teens who fights off a body-snatching invasion in The Faculty. By the time this film opened, the genre had begun to run out of steam and thus The Faculty did not blaze at the box office as many had expected and hoped.
   But before Hartnett could be branded a "Scream King," he smartly sought to diversify his choices by accepting a wide range of roles in a variety of different films. Among them were small independent features, a few youth-oriented films (not of the horror genre), and even a big budget film that cast him alongside Hollywood heavyweights Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton. The first of these to be released, Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides, debuted in 1999 at the Cannes Film Festival to mostly positive reviews.
   Based on the novel by Jeffrey Eugenides, Virgin Suicides followed the fates of the five Lisbon sisters who suffocate under the restrictive hand of their ultra-Catholic mother. Hartnett starred as Trip Fontaine, the most popular boy in school who sets his sights on the second youngest Lisbon daughter, Lux, played by Kirsten Dunst. Hartnett enters the film in a dreamy sequence in which he struts to the delight of the opposite sex to the tune of "Magic Man" by Blondie. Exuding a magnetic appeal that seduces the audience as well as Lux, Hartnett won rave reviews for his performance.
   While most of Hartnett's films currently have him in either supporting roles, or as part of an ensemble, his performance in The Virgin Suicides and his growing fan base have finally started to pave the way for leading roles. He recently scored the leading role opposite Ben Affleck in Michael Bay's World War II event epic Pearl Harbor, a role that gives him his best opportunity yet to make good on the promise of the buzz he's generated from industry insiders as a young actor worth looking out for.
   Possessing undeniable screen appeal, Josh Hartnett is one young actor who promises to live up to expectations. He has already displayed a considerable acting talent that looks to grow deeper and more interesting with each new role, and his upcoming films look to win over both audiences and critics alike. One of the few actors truly deserving of the label, Josh Hartnett is definitely a star destined to be one of his generation's best and brightest.

   Next up for Josh Hartnett -- Hartnett stars in O, a modern update of Shakespeare's Othello, in which the setting has been moved to a wealthy prep school, Hartnett will take on the role of the Iago-inspired character opposite Mekhi Phifer and Julia Stiles. In Blow Dry, Hartnett plays Alan Rickman's morgue beautician son. A Miramax comedy about a hairdressing competition between Rickman and his ex-wife, Natasha Richardson, now in love with her lesbian partner, Rachel Griffiths, Blow Dry co-stars Rachael Leigh Cook and is due out later this year. Hartnett also stars as the son of Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in the much-delayed comedy-drama Town and Country, co-starring Goldie Hawn, Garry Shandling, and Jenna Elfman. Finally, Hartnett stars with Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale in Michael Bay's World War II epic Pearl Harbor. The film centers around two best friends who fall in love with the same young woman at the outset of America's entry into World War II. Set against a backdrop that centers around a re-creation of the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, Pearl Harbor is one of the most expensive films ever green-lit. Also starring Cuba Gooding, Jr., Alec Baldwin, James King, Jon Voight, Matthew Davis, Jennifer Garner, and Tom Sizemore, Pearl Harbor is due in theaters around Memorial Day 2001.
Born on July 21, 1978.