Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor. He came to fame after his first film role, in 1998's Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, and as Matt Eversmann in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down, alongside Ewan McGregor, William Fichtner, and Eric Bana.

Early life

Hartnett was born in San Francisco, California and grew up in Saint Paul, Minnesota and raised mostly by his father, Daniel Hartnett (a building manager), and stepmother, Molly (an artist). He has three younger half-siblings, named Jessica, Jake and Joe and is of Irish ancestry. He was raised Roman Catholic, attending Nativity of Our Lord Catholic Grade School, where he played Adam Apple in an eighth grade production of "Krazy Kamp". He later attended Cretin-Derham Hall High School before switching to South High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, from which he graduated in June 1996. Hartnett played football in high school, but stopped because of a broken left knee. Josh has lived in San Francisco.

He got his first job at a local video store. He had also worked at McDonald's and Burger King for a short time before getting his start in acting at Youth Performance Company in Minneapolis. He became a vegetarian at the age of 12 but temporarily returned to meat eating during the shooting of The Black Dahlia.

Career

In April 1997, Hartnett made his screen debut playing the role of Michael Fitzgerald on the short-lived television series, Cracker. He also performed in small plays and on national television commercials, before being cast in his first feature film, playing the son of Jamie Lee Curtis' character in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, which was released on August 5, 1998 and performed well at the box office.

Hartnett has since developed a steady film career, having appeared in several Hollywood films, including The Faculty, Black Hawk Down, Lucky Number Slevin and Pearl Harbor. He was originally set to play the role of Tino in Deuces Wild, but dropped out to star in Pearl Harbor. Hartnett was chosen as one of Teen People magazine's "21 Hottest Stars Under 21" in 1999, Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars under 25", and one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People", both in 2002. He was also voted Bliss magazine's "3rd Sexiest Male".

One of Hartnett's most recent films is the drama-mystery The Black Dahlia, in which he plays a detective investigating the notorious real-life murder of actress Elizabeth Short. Hartnett was cast in the role five years before the film was produced, and remained committed to appearing in the film because he liked the subject matter.Exclusive Interview with The Black Dahlia Star Josh Hartnett July 23, 2008.

Among his 2007 roles are Resurrecting the Champ, a drama also starring Samuel L. Jackson, and the graphic novel-based 30 Days of Night, in which he plays a small-town sheriff, Hartnett describes the film as "supernatural, but kind of a western". He was going to play trumpet player, Chet Baker, in the film The Prince of Cool, but did not agree with the producer's ideas and left the project.