
At the start of the new millennium, Josh Hartnett was destined to be the next big name in Hollywood.
Hartnett, who was compared to the likes of Matt Damon and Leonardo DiCaprio, virtually dominated the Hollywood scene between 2001 and 2003, starring in multiple films between the ages of 19 and 23.
But within just years of his career skyrocketing, the now 43-year-old seemingly faded away from the spotlight.
Josh Hartnett in 2001. Image: Getty. Hartnett was born in 1978 in Saint Paul, Minnesota to Daniel Thomas Hartnett and Wendy Anne Kronstedt.
He was raised by his building manager father and his stepmother, Molly, alongside his three younger half-siblings.
During his high school days, Hartnett had little interest in acting as he was more interested in sports.
But when an injury forced him to stop playing football, he turned his attention to acting, auditioning for the role of Huckleberry Finn in a stage production of Tom Sawyer.
After graduating high school, Hartnett moved to New York where he attended the Conservatory of Theatre Arts & Film.
Hartnett's time at the school was short-lived and after one year, he jumped ship to California.
Not long after moving to Los Angeles, the 19-year-old achieved the impossible, almost immediately making a name for himself in Hollywood with his role on drama series Cracker: Mind Over Murder, which ran from 1997 to 1999.