Josh Hartnett: I grew into my fame

Josh Hartnett doesn't think fame is the best part about being an actor.

The star notoriously ducked out of the spotlight in 2011, turning his back on Hollywood in favour of a quiet life at home in Minnesota.

His casting in hit TV show Penny Dreadful alongside Eva Green and Timothy Dalton brought him back to acting, and the 36-year-old has no plans to take another hiatus any time soon.

"If you're doing well in the industry, [fame is] inevitable, but it's not the best part of working. When I was younger, I liked the idea of it more than the actual limelight. I didn't wear it well," he told US OK! magazine.

"Well, with age I'm better equipped, because it's not new to me. When I was 20, I didn't know how to handle the spotlight. It was the most hectic time in my life. Now I've grown into it. That's actually what's great about shooting Penny Dreadful in Dublin - I think there's maybe four paparazzi, and they were all there on the first day but they left us alone after."

Before his work break, Josh had won fans for films like Pearl Harbour and Black Hawk Down.

However he also missed out on a few major roles, losing parts to Jude Law and the late Heath Ledger.

"Yeah, Cold Mountain didn't go my way when Nicole Kidman came on board; they needed somebody older, so they got Jude instead. And Brokeback [Mountain], I had a conflict with The Black Dahlia, so I had to drop out before shooting. I was brutally disappointed, but that's how it goes," he said.

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