Tall, dark-haired and boyishly handsome with a quietly imposing presence and a demeanor at once confident and charmingly self-effacing, Josh Hartnett got his start playing the troubled son of the titular crime stopper in the short-lived ABC remake of the British series "Cracker" (1997-98) and made an impressive big screen debut in an unlikely vehicle, "Halloween: H20". This 1998 installment of the horror film series featured the actor as John, the son of Jamie Lee Curtis' tormented Laurie Strode. While the movie contained more screaming and bleeding than compelling performing the young actor made the most of his role, capably conveying the character's sensitivity, will and determination.

Hartnett proved a commanding screen presence when cast in the Robert Rodriguez-Kevin Williamson sci-fi teen thriller "The Faculty" (also 1998) as Zeke, one of a group of students struggling to stop an alien invasion starting at their high school. As an exceptionally bright and crafty young man who nevertheless is repeating his senior year, he played the roguish cool kid, Herrington High's resident smart aleck genius, who uses his brains and effort to synthesize and peddle drugs for student body customers rather than to pass classes. With a take on the character that allowed a glimpse of his kindness and loyalty as well as his intelligence and survival instincts Hartnett held his own alongside more experienced co-stars such as Elijah Wood, and contributed a most endearing character to the film.

With the requisite teen horror credits behind him and a clued-in young audience in his corner, Hartnett would next prove himself in Sofia Coppola's feature directorial debut "The Virgin Suicides" (1999), bringing life to school heartthrob Trip Fontaine in this 1970s-set atmospheric coming-of-age piece. A fine adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides' popular cult novel, the film was an underground hit, and when Trip comes on the scene to the tune of Heart's "Magic Man", the actor's own sex symbol status was confirmed. In the less impressive romantic drama "Here on Earth" (also 2001) he co-starred as the good-hearted small town boy who inexplicably loses his childhood sweetheart (Leelee Sobieski) to Chris Klein's cocky prep school student. Playing the son of Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in the comedy-drama "Town & Country" (2001) would expose the actor to an older audience, while a featured supporting role in the Yorkshire-set "Blow Dry" (also 2001) showcased a capable northern British accent.

Cast in a lead role in Michael Bay's epic "Pearl Harbor", Hartnett was poised to enter the ranks of young Hollywood's elite. In the 2001 film he played US Air Force pilot Danny Walker, the lifelong friend of presumed dead Rafe McCawley (Ben Affleck). Rafe's intended Evelyn (Kate Beckinsale) and Danny cross paths and fall in love, much to the chagrin of the returned Rafe. A love story with a historical setting helmed by a director known for his action features, the much-anticipated "Pearl Harbor" was likened to 1997's "Titanic", but even if it didn't mirror it's predecessor's monumental success, the feature would likely put Hartnett at the top of the heap. Though lensed in 1999, a role in the cheeky romantic comedy "40 Days and 40 Nights" (2002) cast the young actor as a brokenhearted soul who gives up sex for Lent, only to almost immediately meet the girl of his dreams, while Ridley Scott's "Black Hawk Down" (2001), a look at the botched United States humanitarian mission to Somalia, returned him to the big budget political genre.

Hartnett's featured turn as Hugo, the Iago character in a prep-school set, modern retelling of "Othello" entitled "O" (filmed in 1999) would sit shelved for some time before seeing the light of day. The victim of numerous release date shifts, the film, starring Mekhi Pfeifer as the wronged Odin, went through a series of shifting release dates when incidences of school violence gave Miramax pause. Eventually Lions Gate stepped in and agreed to open the film in theaters in late summer 2001.

Credit: allstars-online.net