| Calgary Sun May 2001 |
| Full-metal Hartnett HONOLULU -- Some people are born into celebrity while other go in search of it. Josh Hartnett is about to learn what it's like to have celebrity thrust upon him. In Disney's epic romance set against the attack on Pearl Harbor, which opens Friday, Hartnett plays Ben Affleck's rival for the love of leading lady Kate Beckinsale. Affleck and Hartnett play longtime friends and American pilots who fall in love with the same navy nurse. According to Michael Bay, who directed Pearl Harbor, Hartnett "was the first actor through the door to read for the role of Danny Walker. He was this grungy-looking kid from Minnesota but you could tell instantly that he has the potential to be a huge star. He has a real truthful sense about him." Bay still had to convince executives at Disney that Hartnett had the sex appeal and star power the role demands. Bay said he auditioned dozens of young actors and narrowed the field to six with Hartnett near the top. "I went to those auditions reluctantly," insists Hartnett. "It was my manager and agent's idea more than mine. I was enjoying doing roles in small movies. I didn't know if I really wanted to be part of a huge publicity machine. It was barely two years after I started making movies that the possibility of Pearl Harbor came to me." Hartnett, who turns 23 in July, arrived in Hollywood in February 1997. Two months later, he was cast as Robert Pastorelli's moody son on the short-lived crime series Cracker. He made his feature film debut in Halloween H2O and went on to small roles in The Faculty, Virgin Suicides and Town and Country. "Doing the kind of movies I had been, I could go out in public without really turning a single head. It felt so good. It felt so right." Hartnett, who still lives in Minnesota, got the phone call he was dreading. His agent phoned to say Disney was calling to offer him the role of the ace pilot who falls in love with his best friend's girl. "I immediately went over to talk to my dad. My family has helped me keep grounded since I started making movies and TV shows. "I explained my fears to my dad. His advice was to see how far this ride would take me. I had no other offers on the table at the time. "He said that fame is fleeting. It can be temporary but that regret can be forever." Hartnett's worries were eased until he arrived for the first read-through of the script. "At our first meeting, Ben said Pearl Harbor was going to change my life forever but he didn't say if that was a good or bad thing." Hartnett says his inspiration for the role was his own great uncle. "My great uncle had fought in World War II. He didn't talk that much about it because he said he'd lost all his friends. "He had kept all of the letters he'd received during that period and he gave them to me when he heard I'd got the role. He died just as we started filming. I kept reading those letters while we were filming." Hartnett is back in battle, filming Ridley Scott's Black Hawk Down and he'll be seen this summer in the comedy 40 Days/40 Nights. After high school, Hartnett went to New York to study acting and then to L.A. to see if he could break into movies. "It's been quite a trajectory. I've been so lucky. I'm still not certain I comprehend completely what has happened and I certainly have no real grasp of what could happen." |