“She had issues with drugs and alcohol”: Josh Hartnett’s Strained Relationship With His Mother Reveals a Heartbreaking Truth About His Childhood Before Fame
- Josh Hartnett opened up about his mother's absence from his life.
- The actor reveals the reason why he stepped away from the spotlight.
- Hartnett is gearing up for the release of Trap.
Actor Josh Hartnett, who was dubbed a teen idol after he appeared as Michael Fitzgerald on ABC’s Cracker from 1997 to 1998, The actor later went on to star in various projects, including The Virgin Suicides, Pearl Harbor, 40 Days and 40 Nights, August, Oh Lucy!, and more. Hartnett was also a part of the Cillian Murphy starrer Oppenheimer, and he appeared as nuclear physicist Ernest Lawrence in the movie.
Hartnett recently portrayed the role of Frank in The Bear Season 3 and is now gearing up for his upcoming psychological thriller movie Trap. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap centers on a serial killer known as The Butcher, evading police while attending a concert with his daughter. Ahead of the release, the actor opened up about his challenging childhood.
Josh Hartnett opens up about mourning the relationship with his biological mother
During a recent interview with The Guardian, actor Josh Hartnett, who is now gearing up for the release of M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap, in which he plays a doting father along with being a serial killer, talks about his childhood. The actor’s parents split when he was young, and upon asking if he has stayed in touch with his biological mother, Hartnett shared,
No, she died last year. It was a difficult relationship. We had spent most of my youth not around each other. She had issues with drugs and alcohol.
The actor described his biological parents as hippies, as his father was a musician and his mother was someone who liked to see bands. When Hartnett was four, his parents had split up, and his father had married his stepmother, an artist, from whom he got his love of painting. The actor further explained about mourning the relationship he shared with his mother by noting;
I think my process of feeling like I had to mourn that relationship or grieve that grief, I think that started a long time ago. And maybe because I didn’t see her much because, you know, she wasn’t around.
While his mother was not present in his life as much as he expected, his father had a bigger impact on him because he describes that his father was home a lot. Hartnett shared that his father was one of the most incredibly responsible human beings who did not value achievement in a way that high-level work achievement meant proving himself.
Josh Hartnett reveals the reason for his stepping away from the spotlight
The actor, during the conversation, recalled that the attention he received at the time was borderline unhealthy and went into detailing an incident.
People showed up at my house. People that were stalking me. A guy showed up at one of my premieres with a gun, claiming to be my father. He ended up in prison. There were lots of things. It was a weird time, and I wasn’t going to be grist for the mill.
In 2014, during his conversation with Details Magazine (via US Magazine), the actor opened up about not feeling comfortable in his skin, stating,
I was on the cover of every magazine. I couldn’t really go anywhere. I didn’t feel comfortable in my own skin. I was alone. I didn’t trust anyone.
Now, he explains to Variety that he just changed the ways he worked, explaining that he used to be interested in the effect of the character and what the character meant to him. Hartnett noted that he wanted to find a specific type of character when he had choices, but then he got older and realized that he wanted to choose things that were way outside of what he understood.
I also don’t care about what character is, as much as I care about the people that I’m working with. If it’s great people, then it’s my job to figure out what the character is.
Josh Hartnett says the script for Trap is just batshit crazy with a wonderful character. He added that he cannot share much, but the characters in the movie are wonderfully complex.
Trap is scheduled for release on August 2, 2024.
