Bad actor or bad roles? Josh Hartnett (and others) (1 Viewer)

[Seth Paxton]

I think Chris Klein has a bit more potential than Josh to be honest. Josh has been fine so far but I think Chris in Election was better than Josh in Virgin Suicides.

Leo is an excellent actor. I thought he was critical to Titanics success and I don't mean because of looks. I thought he was much stronger than Kate, although she was solid.

Another pretty boy that gets unfairly slammed is Tom Cruise. He brings it every time and has really become a great actor as he has aged. I found Kidman to be rather awkward in Eyes Wide Shut while he was totally believable to me. (she came back strong this year of course)

Looks are key, but if you can't act you won't last because there is always another pretty face waiting to replace you.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I thought that Josh Hartnett did an excellent job in Black Hawk Down. I forgot for a moment that he was a Tommy Lee Jones look-alike and saw him as the Seargent who got leadership responsibility thrust upon him.

 

[Scott W.]

I liked Hartnett in Halloween H2O.

Scott

 

[Robert Crawford]

For a 23 year old actor, Hartnett is doing just fine and his future is very bright. By the way, he can act and will only get better in time.

Crawdaddy

 

[nate n]

If hartnett is an awful actor, what the hell is keanu reeves!!!!! Hartnett is by no means awesome, but he's above average with potential. Don't hate because he's a good looking guy.

 

[Ryan Peter]

Seth, I think Chris Klein has died since Election (American Pie 1 & 2, upcoming Rollerball, etc.)

I think Jared Leto is a really good, although he's getting a little long in the tooth compared to these younger guys. Tobey MaGuire is good. Hopefully Christina Ricci will breakout sometime soon. I think even Jason Biggs is decent and could move beyond his teen movie status and hopefully soon. Hartnett is good and getting better. He was very good in BHD. Yeah, 40 Days and 40 Nights looks stinky, but I think BHD should propel him beyond that and get him some decent jobs.

 

[Butch C]

You know how he gets into movies? The casting directors have lovers who wont sleep with them unless Josh gets the part. A pretty face will get you far in life.

Come again?

 

[MickeS]

Dome mentioned that Hartnett looks just like Tommy Lee Jones, and that is the only thing that always bothers me about Hartnett's performances. I guess it will go away in time, but it hasn't gone away yet.
/Mike

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

I think Hartnett looks more like a younger Jan-Michael Vincent. Link Removed
~Edwin

 

[Shane Gralaw]

I never really liked him as an actor and he came off as a real idiot in the Virgin Suicides making of featurette.

But I hear he's a nice guy- a friend of mine worked on The Faculty and told me that when Elijah Woods' stand-in had an apartment fire and lost everything, Woods, Hartnett, and Clea Duval got together and bought him all-new stuff. Seeing as this never made it out as publicity fodder, it seems like a genuinely nice gesture so I'm now more willing to cut the guy a break.

 

[Vickie_M]

If hartnett is an awful actor, what the hell is keanu reeves!!!!!

Oh freaking hell, now it's pile on Keanu Reeves time? Look, go watch The Gift then come back and try and convince me that Reeves can't act. He'll never win an Academy Award, but neither will Hartnett! They're both professional, serviceable actors who can shine brightly when given the right role and the right director.
Leo, on the other hand, probably will get his Oscar at some point.
I HATE IT when people feel they have to put down one human being to build up another.
Vickie

 

[Inspector Hammer!]

Amen Vickie!
Lets leave Keanu alone, for the kinds of films he makes, he's a real solid actor.
If you'll pardon the pun, he was the driving force that made 'Speed' so great, he portrayed Jack Traven as a very believable cop pushed into a very bad situation. Same thing in 'Point Break', he's very good at playing the surfer boy image, BUT he also made me believe that he was a good cop as well.
'Bill and Ted 1 & 2', another example, he was eh hem, excellent for that type of role in that type of movie, see what i'm getting at here?
And do I have to even mention 'The Matrix'?

 

[Paul Richardson]

When The Faculty came out, I singled out Josh Harnett as a face to watch. Unfortunately, since then most of his films have been pretty crappy. Black Hawk Down was pretty good, but I think 40 Days 40 Nights has the potential to push him over the top as a star.

 

[Tino]

I'm actually surprised that this thread is still open Since the originator hasn't replied since starting it, that only reinforces my assumption that it's flame bait.
IMO, any thread started simply to trash an actor in the manner exhibited here is unworthy of the HTF.
JMHO

 

[Matt Stone]

I'm with you Tino...a pretty useless post.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I thought Klein was one of the few good things about the Pie films. In fact I like most of the actors in those films...much more than the scripts themselves.

Picking roles is not the same as acting, just ask Cuba Gooding Jr.

 

[Seth Paxton]

But as always Tino, we take that mother f***er and make it ours.
It's like "Hey I'm a big jerk!"
The rest of us - "Hmmm, that brings up an interesting point, what about..."

 

[Jefe Noche]

I've got 0 sympathy for actors who are "mistakenly" labled as "bad" based on the roles they choose (or sometimes the roles they choose to not develop). It's their fault for doing crap and crap work. Yes, obviously, "Canoo" and "pretty" boy Leo can act, but I don't blame the general public for dismissing them based on the "main streams" that they've seen. It's their fault!!!!

These young actors need to take a hard look at who stays around and why. Good examples of great actors who almost allways do quality work in good roles are:

Morgan Freeman (even good as President in Deep Impact)

Jodie Foster (Hannibal? no thanks)

Kevin Spacey

Brad Pitt

Edward Norton (the "new" generations best actor)

hell even Marky Mark doesn't seem to sell out

On a side note (in reference to the Josh/Tommy Lee thing):

It took me a long time to accept Christian Slater on his own merits. All I could see was a Jack wannabe.

 

[Anthony_D]

Tino...follow these instructions....take a deep breath and relax. If this thread bothers you that much dont participate in it...its as simple as that. You sound like a school child that is to preoccupied with what the other kids are doing...relax
i dont find Josh Hartnett to be a very good actor although i did find his performance to be one of the many good things in The Virgin suicides...i just wonder what suddenly made him this weeks in thing.

 

[Bruce Hedtke]

I always find it amusing when people bash the young talent in Hollywood. Give them time. They are new to the business, just getting their feet wet. In time, they will steer away from the easy, non-challenging roles and dive into the hard-edged stuff and then you will be able to pass judgement. Harnett has been on the scene, what, two-three years? He's still an infant in film terms. I think he has alot of potential and is building a good foundation. If anything, perhaps he could try doing some Indie films, get away from the Hollywood bloat and have to rely on acting and dialogue rather than a polished set and script.
I now hang my head knowing I fell for troll bait.
Bruce