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Josh Hartnett: Horror, Comedy And Drama

Tanya Mardirossian |
July 13, 2015 | 10:12 a.m. PDT

TV Editor

Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler in "Penny Dreadful" (Showtime)
Josh Hartnett as Ethan Chandler in "Penny Dreadful" (Showtime)
Whether if you’ve seen him as a young actor or his gory role on Showtime, Josh Hartnett has managed to keep himself popular since his first gig in 1997 and was featured in films nearly every year to follow. 

Hartnett has kept himself relevant and active in the film industry; yet, he isn’t an actor who's constantly in the limelight. So here’s to you, Josh Hartnett. 

Born July 21, 1978, Hartnett was raised in Minnesota. He played high school football and was your average  teenager until the ‘90s. He was encouraged to take on acting by his aunt and moved to Los Angeles to follow his path. Fast forward, and there he is in “Cracker,” a drama series that didn’t last very long. Showing off his acting skills in the show, he landed his first film role with co-star Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween H20” (1998). 

READ MORE: 'Penny Dreadful' Season 2, Episode 10 Recap: 'And They Were Enemies'

His most current role is in the Showtime series “Penny Dreadful” as Ethan Chandler. In the show, he co-stars with two familiar faces to the “James Bond” films: Timothy Dalton and Eva Green. Clearly, Hartnett has no problem playing with blood and gore. He did well with teen demographics and kept up with the horror genre. Just a year later, he was in the film “The Faculty,” along with many famous names like Jon Stewart, Salma Hayek and Jordana Brewster.  

In 1999, Hartnett joined Kirsten Dunst and others for a role in “The Virgin Suicides.” Though this was a different genre for the young actor, director Michael Bay found talent in him and cast him in 2001’s “Pearl Harbor” with Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale. The same year, Hartnett  was cast in another war film, “Black Hawk Down.” 

Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett in "Hollywood Homicide" (Columbia Pictures)
Harrison Ford and Josh Hartnett in "Hollywood Homicide" (Columbia Pictures)
By 2003, Hartnett was on a roll with working with some of Hollywood’s best. Already seen as an attractive young actor, he played alongside Harrison Ford in an action comedy, “Hollywood Homicide.” 

With his experience in playing  different roles for different genres, Hartnett played a similarly goofy role to his “Hollywood Homicide” character in “40 Days and 40 Nights” just a year earlier. He maintained his image as a horror/thriller actor in films “30 Days of Night” (2007) and “I Come with the Rain” (2009). Covering action, thriller, horror and comedy, Hartnett experimented with his 2014 film as “Parts Per Billion,” a drama that involves biological weapons and an apocolypse. Hartnett had played with his “Parts Per Billion” co-stars Alexis Bledel and Rosario Dawson in “Girl Walks Into a Bar” (2011). 

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With all his work among the years, Hartnett managed to balance his romances here and there. Here are the Hollywood names that stick out. Hartnett and actress Scarlett Johansson began dating in 2005. Their relationship lasted about two years. In 2012, Amanda Seyfried and Hartnett were seen together publicly and were reportedly serious until Seyfried’s filming began in London for “Les Miserables.” Josh Hartnett is currently dating British model Tamsin Egerton. They have been together since July of 2012. The couple are expecting their first child. E! Online posted a photo of the couple with Egerton showing off her baby bump. 

Reach TV Editor Tanya Mardirossian here. Follow her on Twitter



 

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