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Josh Hartnett explains turning down Superman and Batman roles

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Josh Hartnett explains turning down Superman and Batman roles

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Josh Hartnett turned down the roles of Superman and Batman.

The 42-year-old actor is reflecting on his decision to avoid superhero films, telling Metro that he is happy with the choices he made as a growing star.

“At that age it is very easy to become someone else’s tool or someone else’s puppet,” Hartnett said. “I was very aware of the choices I was making and I wanted them to be my choices.”

The actor admitted that when he turned down the parts, it didn’t seem like a big deal at the time, but that he eventually didn’t want to be typecast as a “superhero type.” Hartnett explained his decision by stating that many actors struggled to “get their career back” after taking superhero parts at the time.

“There were a lot of powers that be that wanted me to pursue those films, but I have always been interested in stories about people and I didn’t want to be boxed into that superhero type,” he continued. “Back then a lot of actors had to fight really hard to get their career back after they played those characters.”

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    Despite appearing in a few blockbusters and being dubbed “the new Leonardo DiCaprio” by some, Hartnett knew he didn’t want to pursue a career in big-budget movies, especially ones that required him to don spandex and a cape.

    Brandon Routh was eventually cast in the starring role of Superman Returns, a box office flop in the United States. Meanwhile, Christian Bale featured as Batman in the Dark Knight Trilogy, which was a worldwide box office success and boosted his cinematic career significantly.

    Hartnett recently starred as Ethan Chandler in Penny Dreadful and has also performed in a number of independent films.

    Hartnett is presently appearing in Target Number One as real-life Canadian journalist Victor Malarek, who was framed by authorities while attempting to liberate petty drug dealer Alain Olivier after he was sentenced to 100 years in a Thai jail.

    ‘He is very charismatic and heroic,’ Josh said of Malarek. ‘When it comes to corruption or abuse of power, he will throw himself in the way of the metaphorical bullets to save the people he is trying to write about.’

    Hartnett discussed what happened to his career when he opted not to seek a role in the Dark Knight trilogy in a 2015 interview with Playboy. He said, “I’ve definitely said no to some of the wrong people. I said no because I was tired and wanted to spend more time with my friends and family. That’s frowned upon in this industry. People don’t like being told no. I don’t like it.”

    “I learned my lesson when Christopher Nolan and I talked about Batman,” he continued. “I decided it wasn’t for me. Then he didn’t want to put me in The Prestige. They not only hired their Batman for it, they also hired my girlfriend [Scarlett Johansson] at the time.”

    Hartnett has since realized that it is possible to progress in his profession even after portraying a certain role.

    “I know now that I wouldn’t turn something down just because it’s a superhero role,” he said.

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