Josh Hartnett says he quit Hollywood because he didn’t like the social scene, didn’t enjoy “hobnobbing” with people he didn’t care about.
Yahoo reports that the 43-year-old actor rose to fame as a teen in films including The Faculty and Halloween H2O and went on to star opposite Kate Beckinsale in Michael Bay’s critically panned war movie Pearl Harbour.
Shortly after that he retreated from the spotlight, and while he continued to act in movies, he moved back home to Minnesota to spend time with friends and family.
Hartnett – who stars opposite Melissa Leo in new crime drama Ida Red – revealed his Hollywood career could have been very different as he turned down a part in Ang Lee’s multi-award winning gay love story Brokeback Mountain.
Hartnett told news.com.au: “I didn’t think that was crazy – I still don’t. It’s an industry that thrives on hype and thrives on what’s interesting at that moment, but I wouldn’t put myself back in that situation, ever.
“At that point in my life, when I was so young and just trying to form my own personality, I just felt it was too much, honestly.
“I was happy to be going to work and making films, and coming home and hanging out with people who I knew cared about me, instead of, you know … hobnobbing.”
