Josh is determined not to be hottest thing in Hollywood

IC Croydon, Sep 14 2004

HOLLYWOOD star Josh Hartnett loves acting but loathes being caught in the glare of the celebrity spotlight.

EILEEN CONDON reports...

Not only is actor Josh Hartnett one of Hollywood's most successful leading men, he's also one of the hottest. And that's official - according to a recent glossy magazine poll of the World's 100 Sexiest Men, in which he came in at a very impressive number 18.

So, if anyone's got the right to be a little pleased with himself, this tall, dark and very handsome 26-year-old has.

But far from revelling in his A-list status, the introspective star says he's so uncomfortable with it he'd almost rather be at the bottom of the pile.

"I'm absolutely not in the race to be the hottest actor," he insists.

"I know what it's like to be in that whole world. I was up there for a couple of years and it was uncomfortable.

"I think trying to stay at the top is a shortcut to unhappiness."

In fact the reluctant star of hit films such as The Virgin Suicides and Black Hawk Down, says he almost pulled out of acting altogether because of the whole fame game.

"I spent a bit of time really thinking about whether this was the right thing for me," he reveals.

"I took 15 months out of the business. I was like a lot of people in their 20s, wondering, 'Who am I? What do I want to be when I grow up?'

"I thought if I did give up acting I'd go back to school for a while and find something else to do. I always wanted to be a painter and if I had the means I might just hermit myself away and do that for a while."

While many of his Hollywood co-stars might similarly complain about the limelight, only to pop up in full glory at the next glitzy premiere, at least Josh is true to his word.

Rarely seen at showbiz parties, he has also refused to live in LA preferring the quiet life in Minnesota where he was raised and where he has just bought his own home.

"LA is so geared to celebrities. I really don't want to get sucked up in the madness. I like it at home where my best friends and my family are," he explains.

It's not as if the talented young star isn't in demand in Tinseltown either. He recently turned down the role of Superman which would undoubtedly have catapulted his career into orbit.

"I didn't ever want to do it," he explains.

"It just wasn't the kind of movie I wanted to do. I turned down other superhero roles as well."

However, Josh is no stranger to the Hollywood blockbuster. He was a little-known actor when he was offered a starring role in the sweeping Second World War epic Pearl Harbor.

Not surprisingly, a little older and wiser, Josh has since opted for substance over style with his career choices.

His latest film is a case in point. Wicker Park, which opened on Friday September 10, is a remake of the classic French movie, L'Appartement, and decidedly low budget compared with the usual Hollywood fare, but Josh says this was exactly the kind of film he was looking for.

"It's something you don't see very often. A smart, romantic thriller, something that's actually for a thinking person," he says.

The star also leapt at the chance to work with acclaimed Scottish director Paul McGuigan (Gangster No 1).

"He's a good guy and very smart, but he'll tell you he's not good at anything because he's Scottish and I like that about him," he smiles.

"He's got a really good visual sense too and I like a director for whom it's not 'fill in the blank' when they get to work. It's inventive the whole time."

In the Hitchcock-style thriller, which also stars British actress Rose Byrne and Scooby-Doo star Matthew Lillard, Josh plays a young investment banker from Chicago who finds himself drawn into a dangerous world of obsessive love when his girlfriend Lisa [Diane Kruger] suddenly goes missing.

Although he's notoriously shy about his own relationships, Josh admits the central love story in Wicker Park definitely drew him to the role.

"What appealed to me was its theme of passion and the belief that love conquers all," he explains.

"I think that's the sweetness about the film.

"It's a story about the possibility of love finding a way in the most improbable circumstances.

"When you really look at it, it's a movie about being in love, and the kind of trouble you put yourself through to find that love again."

And as for Josh's own lovelife, it's rumoured the sexy star is back on the singles market again after breaking up with his long-term girlfriend Ellen Fenster. Potential dates will have to brush up on the one-liners though as Josh says he loves a girl who can make him laugh.

"If a girl doesn't have a sense of humour then what do you talk about?" he smiles.

She'd also have to be willing to put up with a busy schedule, because despite his reluctance to play the Hollywood game, Josh is more in demand than ever. He'll team up with Paul McGuigan again for the new movie Lucky Seven and is about to start shooting The Black Dahlia with Scarlett Johansson - all the while trying not to be the hottest thing in Hollywood.

"That hottest, newest, greatest thing never really pans out," he reasons.

"All I know is I want to do good roles and something I really believe in."

source: http://icessex.icnetwork.co.uk