In recent years, Josh Hartnett was one of those actors who had entertainment hounds curious of his whereabouts. However, following his stunning performance as Ernest Lawrence in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer cast (in addition to a few other roles as of late that we will cover), it seems that we can officially say that the Hartaissance is on. Let’s celebrate this new era by exploring his filmography with our picks of the best Josh Hartnett movies and TV shows, along with a tip of where to find them on streaming or as a digital rental, below.
Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998)
Two decades after surviving her brother’s killing spree and going into hiding, a California boarding school headmistress (Jamie Lee Curtis) is shocked to learn he has found her.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: For his feature film debut, Hartnett had the honor playing the son of one of cinema’s top Scream Queens in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later, which was the first of the Halloween movies to reboot the continuity.
Stream Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on Showtime.
Rent or buy Halloween H20: 20 Years Later on Amazon.
The Faculty (1998)
A group of teens from different walks of life must unite when they become some of the few people not affected by an alien parasite causing their teachers, and others, to act frighteningly out of character.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett seemed well on his way to achieving Scream King status with his second movie of 1998 (and second collaboration with H20 screenwriter Kevin Williamson), director Robert Rodriguez’s The Faculty — a not-too-scary horror classic fusing Invasion of Body Snatchers-esque paranoia satire with the archetypal coming-of-age commentary of The Breakfast Club.
Stream The Faculty on Paramount+.
The Virgin Suicides (1999)
Five sisters raised in an extremely sheltered environment become objects of fascination for four young men in 1970s Detroit.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett first earned serious acting acclaim and a heartthrob reputation as Trip Fontaine in this adaptation of Jeffrey Eugenides novel, The Virgin Suicides — Sofia Coppola’s feature-length debut as a writer and director and, arguably, her best film to date.
Stream The Virgin Suicides on Amazon Prime.
Stream The Virgin Suicides on Paramount+.
O (2001)
After his coach (and father) chooses his predominantly white basketball team’s only Black player (Mekhi Pfeiffer) as MVP, a jealous high school athlete (Hartnett) conspires to ruin his life.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett let out his bad side for the first time as the antagonist of O, which was one of many modernized retellings of William Shakespeare plays — this one being based on Othello.
Stream O on Max.
Rent or buy O on Amazon.
Black Hawk Down (2001)
A U.S. military crew struggles to locate and rescue more than 100 Army Rangers after a pair of helicopter crashes leave them stranded in Somalia.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Also one of the best movies starring the late Tom Sizemore, director Ridley Scott’s Black Hawk Down is a highly realistic depiction of war inspired by a real incident from 1993.
Stream Black Hawk Down on Netflix.
Rent or buy Black Hawk Down on Amazon.
40 Days And 40 Nights (2002)
Soon after he commits to swearing off all sexual activity for Lent, a young, single man (Hartnett) meets the woman of his dreams (Shannyn Sossamon).
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Amid its raunchy themes, what makes director Michael Lehmann’s 40 Days and 40 Nights an effective romantic comedy movie for its time is its somewhat thought-provoking and heartfelt approach to the material.
Stream 40 Days And 40 Nights on Pluto TV.
Rent or buy 40 Days And 40 Nights on Amazon.
Hollywood Homicide (2003)
Two Los Angeles detectives — one a veteran who sells real estate (Harrison Ford), the other a rookie with acting aspirations (Hartnett) — are thrown together on the case of an up-and-coming rap group’s murder.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: While their characters have trouble being civil, Hartnett claims he and Ford got along fine (despite rumors of the contrary) on the set of Hollywood Homicide — a funny buddy cop flick from Academy Award nominated co-writer and director, Ron Shelton.
Rent or buy Hollywood Homicide on Amazon.
Wicker Park (2004)
Convinced that he spotted a former lover who left him years earlier, a Chicago advertising executive (Hartnett) tracks her down, leading him down a dangerous path.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Following Hollywood Homicide, Hartnett led a much darker and stranger kind of mystery story called Wicker Park — director Paul McGuigan and screenwriter Brandon Boyce’s English-language update of Gilles Mimouni’s 1996 French thriller, The Apartment.
Stream Wicker Park on Amazon Prime.
Mozart And The Whale (2005)
A cab driver with Asperger’s Syndrome (Hartnett) meets and falls for a woman who is also on the autism spectrum (Radha Mitchell), which proves to create challenging circumstances for their relationship.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Based on the true stories of Jerry Newport and his wife, Mary (according to The Wonderful World of Autism), Mozart and the Whale is an uplifting love story, anchored by Hartnett and Mitchell’s heartfelt portrayals of their characters’ condition.
Stream Mozart And The Whale on Freevee through Amazon.
Sin City (2005)
An anthology of three interconnected stories following the hardened citizens of a grimy urban jungle dominated by crime and corruption.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: For his second collaboration with Robert Rodriguez (who co-directs with comic book legend Frank Miller), Hartnett appeared in the small, but memorably intriguing, role of “The Salesman” in Sin City — a brilliant non-superhero-related comic book movie that brings Miller’s noir-inspired graphic novel series to life with its spectacularly unique visual design.
Stream Sin City on Max.
Rent or buy Sin City on Amazon.
Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
A case of mistaken identity causes a young man (Hartnett) to become embroiled in a feud between the two most powerful leaders of New York City’s criminal underground.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: There is more than meets the eye about Hartnett’s titular role in the fun, subversive crime drama, Lucky Number Slevin — also the actor’s second collaboration with director Paul McGuigan and fellow Sin City cast member, Bruce Willis.
Stream Lucky Number Slevin on Tubi.
Stream Lucky Number Slevin on Freevee through Amazon.
Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)
Four uniquely skilled individuals form an alliance to battle unusual, otherworldly phenomena in 19th Century London.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: There is also more than meets the eye about Hartnett’s character — American gunslinger, Ethan Chandler — on creator John Logan’s acclaimed gothic horror series, Penny Dreadful, which was the actor’s most high profile project during its three-season run on Showtime.
Stream Penny Dreadful on Showtime.
Buy Penny Dreadful on Amazon.
Wrath Of Man (2021)
A security guard for a truck company (Jason Statham) arises the suspicions of his peers after foiling an attempted heist with his unusually impressive skills.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: One of Hartnett’s first major movie releases in years was one of the grittier, more earnest, and simply best Guy Ritchie movies in years, Wrath of Man, in which he plays a fellow security guard named “Boy Sweat” Dave Hancock.
Stream Wrath Of Man on Amazon Prime.
Operation Fortune: Ruse De Guerre (2023)
In order to gain the trust of a wealthy investor suspected of selling a deadly warhead (Hugh Grant), the rebellious leader (Statham) of a ragtag team of secret agents recruit their target’s favorite movie star (Hartnett) as their latest member.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: For his second collaboration with co-writer and director Ritchie and Statham, Hartnett revives his comedic side for his scene-stealing role in the Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre cast, which also includes Aubrey Plaza, Bugzy Malone, and Cary Elwes giving it their all in this hilarious, old school spy flick.
Rent or buy Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre on Amazon.
Black Mirror: Beyond The Sea (2023)
The relationship between two astronauts (Hartnett and Aaron Paul), who are able to continue living on Earth by logging into mechanical decoys, takes a drastic turn when one suffers a horrifying tragedy.
Why it is one of Josh Hartnett’s best: Hartnett gives one of his most captivating performances in years in one of the best episodes of Black Mirror’s sixth season, “Beyond the Sea,” which is also inventive, absorbing, and devastating enough to be called one of the all-time best episodes of the Netflix exclusive technophobic anthology series.
Stream Black Mirror: Beyond The Sea on Netflix.
There are more notable Josh Hartnett movies to find — such as 30 Days of Night, for fans of brutal vampire movies — and more to look forward to as well, as the actor has an action thriller called Fight or Flight in post-production and a crime drama called The Last Draw of Jack of Hearts in pre-production.
