Josh Hartnett on Being up for Superman, Spider-Man, and Batman Roles
In a recent interview with Penny Dreadful star Josh Hartnett, Details was able to get the actor to reveal a number of superhero roles that he was offered but ultimately declined. I never really thought about him playing these roles, but it might have made things interesting. Here is what he had to say:
Details: You're 35 now, but in your twenties, you got offered pretty much everything. You turned down Superman Returns, and you were in talks to play almost every other superhero.
Josh Hartnett: Spider-Man was something we talked about. Batman was another one. But I somehow knew those roles had potential to define me, and I didn't want that. I didn't want to be labeled as Superman for the rest of my career. I was maybe 22, but I saw the danger.
In the interview, Hartnett talks about his reasoning for leaving mainstream films and why he needed to take some time off from the movie scene. However, I felt that this was the most interesting part of the interview. It is very interesting that he was offered all of these roles that could have launched his career into another stratosphere, and then turned them all down. In the end I am glad that he declined because I don’t feel like he would have done any of those roles justice.