| Teen Celebrity October 2000 |
| Josh Hartnett makes a Big Splash on the Big Screen Female movie-goers from coast to coast couldn't help but be swept away by Josh Hartnett's role in the teenage love story Here On Earth this past Spring. Currently, this down-to-earth mid-western guy is working on taking a chunk of history to the big screen with Pearl Harbor, which will also star Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. Fame hasn't changed this 21-year-old actor, as you will seen in this one-on-one interview. TeenCelebrity: Have you traveled a lot since becoming a movie star? JoshHartnett: A little bit, last year. That was the first time I had left the States. I went to Japan, France, Ireland and England. I loved it over there. What do you like to do when you're not working? Well, I haven't been working in the last four months and I usually spend my free time reading and writing in my diary or hanging out with friends. So, what's the deal with Kirsten Dunst, your Virgin Suicides co-star? Are you talking romantically? Nothing. We became really good friends on that shoot. She asked me to her high school prom and that's it. How do you kill time in between takes on a movie set? Well, I've been writing and painting since I was a little kid, so those are the perfect hobbies when you're just hanging around. It's very easy to become a hermit on sets. But for Here on Earth, I had Chris [Klein] to hang out with, so that was cool. When you are on location, what are a couple of items you always take with you? I always have a stereo and my guitar. I'm such a terrible guitar player, but it doesn't stop me from playing! And I take loads of hats. I like to wear them to keep a low profile. Are your parents in the business? No Who do you think you get your passion for acting from? I don't know, I think everybody can do it. It's not that hard, honest, it isn't. Have they been supportive of your show biz dreams? They are so cool about it and they said, "If this is what you want to do, you go for it." My parents are the most supportive and coolest people in the world. They just let me go and they completely believe in me. When you first moved from Minnesota to Hollywood to try your luck in the biz, did you have any odd jobs? No, not really. When I moved out, I gave myself two months to get a role. I was pretty naive. I didn't know what the deal was out here and I had no idea that there were so many people wanting to be actors. My manager from back home brought me out here. She pratically begged me to come out and she promised she'd get me a lot of good auditions and she's been true to her word. So, where's home for you these days? I'm moving back to Minnesota right now - that will always be my home. But isn't there a lot of pressure to move to Hollywood? I moved to Hollywood for two years and I just didn't enjoy it. It's not anything I understand. All my best friends in the world are back home in Minnesota. When I first started living out here in L.A., I didn't know a soul. I lived in a little cabin off Laurel Canyon and I just never left it. I hated it. L.A.'s not my scene, man. How do you feel about being a teen pin-up? I don't. That kind of stuff perpetuates itself in a strange way. It's one of those rare things where young girls can get over zealous. I don't want to encourage that. You may be disappointing a lot of your fans! It's not that. I don't appreciate it, because I think it's really flattering. I think everyone wants to be considered a good-looking person. But I want to do it differently. I think there is more longevity if I remain a little elusive. Would your buddies back home tell you if your success goes to your head? I hope so! [Laughs] My friends will tell me if I'm different. They keep me in check! I think it's harder for them than it is for me, because I don't particurlarly enjoy fame, but my friends have to deal with it too if we're all out in a group. For example, we would go out and meet some girl and we would all have an equal chance, but now it's different because the chances are she knows whom I am and that just makes everything a little awkward. So, what's next for you? I'm going to Hawaii to shoot a film with Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale called Pearl Harbor. There's gonna be a lot of action and romance. It's going to be a lot of fun for me. And I'm not going to tell you who gets the girl! Of all the characters you've played so far, who is the closest to the real you? I think Tripp, my character from The Virgin Suicides. But really not one of them has come close to completing who I think I am. There's also a bit of Jasper in me from Here on Earth because I'm kind of a sensitive guy. I've always considered myself to be a bit of an outsider. |