“I became very concerned”: Josh Hartnett Was Left Panicking While Filming M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ After One Unexpected Incident
- Josh Hartnett had an unexpected encounter with an extra in 'Trap' who offered unnecessary encouragement.
- Hartnett had faced troublesome fan interactions earlier and decided to stay away from limelight.
- Hartnett relied on his everyday family responsibilities to manage the psychological toll of 'Trap'.
Josh Hartnett has returned to the big screen with M. Night Shyamalan’s latest thriller, Trap. The movie is all about suspense and unexpected twists. Hartnett plays Cooper who seems like an ordinary father who takes his daughter to a pop concert. But as Shyamalan film history says, things are not quite what they seem.
But it is not just the plot that has been interesting about the movie. Hartnett’s experience on set was also quite extraordinary. An unexpected incident happened to him while filming that made him question his performance and sent him into a brief panic.
Unexpected Interaction Leaves Josh Hartnett Questioning His Performance
Josh Hartnett‘s role in Trap is not a straightforward role. Initially, it appears as if his character Cooper is an ordinary father. But as the story moves on, it turns out that Cooper might be hiding a dark secret. The concert is actually a sting operation to catch him, aka The Butcher.
However, an unusual encounter with an extra in the set puzzled Hartnett. In a recent interview with ComicBook, the actor shared that while he was going over his lines between shots, an extra approached him and tried to encourage him for no particular reason.
There were a lot of extras, were just milling around in between shots and I was like going over my stuff and one came over to me and he said ‘don’t worry you’re doing a good job’, like really encouragingly. I was like ‘why is he saying this to me? I thought I was doing a great job like what is it’.
The incident left Hartnett questioning his performance. He couldn’t understand why an extra would come to him out of nowhere just to encourage him. The actor became doubtful if he was making mistakes unknowingly during takes. Hartnett said further,
He was like really trying to console me, I guess, for all the horrible stuff I’d just been doing on camera and I don’t know. Maybe he was right, maybe I had a couple of bad takes or something. But he seemed concerned and then I became very concerned because I was like ‘Am I messing everything up? Why do the extras think I’m terrible in this movie.’
The actor has had some not-so-great experiences during fan interactions in the past. In an interview with The Guardian, Hartnett opened up about how fans’ attention almost became “borderline unhealthy” for him due to excessive stalking, which became one of the reasons why he left the limelight for some time.
However, the interaction with the extra during the shoot of Trap was not an “unhealthy” one like he mentioned. But it left Hartnett in momentary self-doubt, especially as he was already portraying a complex character like Cooper.
How Josh Hartnett Prepared for His Role in Trap?
Taking on the role of a potential serial killer is not an easy task. Hartnett described how he has played Cooper as a balance between a good guy and an evil person during an interview with CBS.
Hartnett researched psychopathy to prepare for the role. He wanted to understand the mindset of someone living a double life, someone who is hiding a dark secret behind a constructed facade.
I tried to keep this character as far away from me as possible. Basically it’s not necessarily serial killer first, it’s just like could I understand what it would be like to try to hide your identity, put this other facade on in front of you that you spent your whole life kind of living, but really having this deep, dark secret.
Hartnett also thought the role was challenging because it was beyond his understanding. However, taking such a challenge sometimes can take its toll. The actor revealed in an interview with ComicBook that his family life helped him shed the character after filming.
Hartnett found that everyday family responsibilities, like cooking dinner or putting the kids to bed, helped him reset and step away from the dark psychology of his character.
Despite the challenges, Hartnett was quite enthusiastic about working with M. Night Shyamalan and his portrayal of Cooper is someone who can blend everyday life with some sinister actions in true Shyamalan style.
Trap is now running in theaters.
