Josh Hartnett Exclusive: ‘Wanted - An (Ordinary) Girlfriend’

Josh interview....................MILAN, JUNE 2008



Josh is in town for the launch of the Armani Diamonds for Men campaign, the new fragrance which he is currently promoting. I’m conceded exactly 14 minutes to interview him…

In the advertising campaign’s photographs and video, you are surrounded by the paparazzi and screaming fans…
A situation which I try to avoid at all costs…

And, despite this, you are still considered a sex symbol.
…Directors are now starting to offer me more complex and far more interesting roles. Getting older has its advantages.

You grew up in Minneapolis, in the Midwest, deep in the heart of America. Barack Obama also comes from the Midwest. Do you think this is a sign that things are changing?

The economy is crumbling…something has to change, Obama has interesting ideas and I support him, but I don’t think this has something to do with the place in which he was raised…
Can we meet another time?
How about in New York in a month’s time?


NEW YORK, JULY 2008

We arrange to meet at Bread, a bar in Soho. Josh strolls in, by himself, and is dressed as a typical New Yorker enjoying the summer weekend. Flip-flops, bermudas and red Ray-Bans…


The last time we met, we had been talking about values. Has it proved difficult for you to reconcile your image and your role as an actor with your liberal ideas?

Yes, quite…I never wanted to do that which the system expected from me…And for this, at one point–it was August 2001…my career was really taking off–I left everything and went back home…I couldn’t keep living like a rock star.

There are plenty of people who dream of living like a rock star.

Yes, but everything has a price. Like the character which I interpret in August, which has just been released here in America: a whiz kid of the internet economy who loses his mind and sacrifices everything…

Why do you think everyone is so interested in the private lives of celebrities?

Because people love gossip. But gossip ruins relationships. I have dated many famous women (in no particular order:Gisele Bündchen, Penélope Cruz, Kirsten Dunst, Helena Christensen, Rihanna e Scarlett Johansson, who was the only one who held, for a few years, the official title of ‘girlfriend’) and I have realized that to make sure a relationship survives, you don’t talk about it…

So you should perhaps try to go out with ordinary girls.

I wouldn’t preclude them…

Why did you accept Armani’s proposal?

Because with the money that I am earning from the campaign, I can afford to continue doing the things I love…choosing small films in which I believe in and open a creole restaurant in Minneapolis. Mr Armani, a man whom I highly admire, offered me a ticket to freedom.

In autumn you return to the theatre, reinterpreting the film Rain Man. Why are you going back to your roots?

…I like the idea of exploring new things. I have just finished filming a movie alongside Demi Moore (Bunraku) without the budget which a diva like Demi is used to…

Why in London and not in Broadway?

Because there are far too many distractions here in New York…will you come and see me?


LONDON, SEPTEMBER 2008

The first newspaper which I buy informs me that Josh Hartnett had been filmed by CCTV whilst he was having sex with a mysterious lady in the library of the Soho Hotel. It seems that in the meantime, someone in England has already met him. That evening, the show at the Apollo Theatre is packed, and I meet Josh backstage…

Are you satisfied with the performance tonight?

Yes, very…

…All for the best, I guess.
With each day that passes, things get better: the way I act, my relationship with the company, that with the city…

I see you still have to get changed, so I’ll leave you…

Thanks for having come. Who knows, we might meet again…

Interview © Silvia Nucini for Vanity Fair Italia.