Josh hartnett
Film quotes pose as questions. Film stars try to cope.
The Faculty star faces our movie-quote posers.
In the crosshaIrs thIs month Josh hartnett Are you talkin’ to me?
Yes, sir, I’m talking to you! That quote is so evocative, because Travis Bickle has these delusions of grandeur. He’s taking some power back, as someone who’s been powerless. I think this is why people relate to that character so much. And also, my girls and I use that quote a lot, just joking around. I could go on about this quote for a long time!
Do you have an off switch?
I do, it’s just sometimes difficult to flip. But, usually, at the end of a production, I’m pretty bored with the character, unless it’s a very short shoot, because I’ve been thinking about it so much, for months. On She’s Missing, I flew in, shot for two days, and then flew back out. So this is one where I didn’t get bored by the end. [laughs]
Who’s the more foolish, the fool or the fool who follows him?
That’s a question a lot of us could be asking ourselves. Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of my film heroes. They were doing drive-in revivals when I was a kid. My dad took me to see The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars at the drive-in, and then I saw Return Of The Jedi when it first came out, and I had all the action figures. I was obsessed.
How much can you know about yourself if you’ve never been in a fight?
I’ve been in some fights. I haven’t found them entirely illuminating. But I really liked that film, and what it had to say about how it feels to be caged in the modern world. [David] Fincher is one of the great directors of our time.
What do you want to talk about now?
How about She’s Missing! My character, Ren, is a sort of con-artist. I find that you can have these sort of people in every part of your life, someone who is narcissistic enough to believe that they have the answers. They lack enough empathy, and believe they should be in control of other people, and are charismatic enough to convince people to go along with them. It’s a dangerous combination.
‘my friends recently tried to get me to watch the faculty with them’
So what are you afraid of?
Getting to the end of my life, and realising I missed the point.
What kind of a man are you?
I’m someone who is restless, who is always looking for the next thing that’s going to be the most interesting. I’m someone who wants to experience as much as possible in life, but I guess I’m working on that.
Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?
That movie is so good. Michael Keaton is always going to be the best Batman. But there’s never been an actor who has so seamlessly made his art commercially viable as Jack Nicholson. The other thing about Jack Nicholson is, even when he’s dark, there’s something really loose and playful about him that is so engaging. He’s my favourite actor.
What’s your favourite scary movie?
My friends, who I grew up with and don’t get to see as much as I’d like to, started a WhatsApp group in order to include me in their daily banter. We’ll put on a movie at the same time, and talk about that movie, and have a drink, and act like we’re engaging in the same thing. And, most recently, they tried to get me to watch The Faculty with them. But, luckily, they were just kidding. [laughs] I’ve seen a lot of good scary movies, but a really good scary movie for me is a psychological one.
Do you feel lucky, punk?
I very much do. And I also feel like a punk in that I still feel young, and I still feel like I’m trying to figure things out. I don’t feel set. I’m 40 years old, and I feel #blessed to have that in my life.
I just figure that we have two things we can do – help, or we can sit back and watch a country destroy itself on CNN, right?
Man, you hit me with the political one at the end! It’s a sucker punch. I think it’s good to be involved, but I think it’s good not to be histrionic. I would like to see people listen a little bit more. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to do that when the rhetoric on television is so intense and so divided. We have to find things that we can actually agree on, and figure out how to go from there.
ETA | 1 JULY / ShE’S MiSSing iS AvAiLAbLE on dEMAnd nExT MonTh.