Actor Josh Hartnett had a bit of an unexpected shake-up recently. He landed in the hospital after a car crash involving a police vehicle. This happened while he was in St. Johns, Canada, on Thursday, September 25. Reports from CBC News say the 47-year-old was a passenger in an SUV. This SUV collided with a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary, or RNC, patrol car. The RNC shared a press release that day, mentioning the crash happened around 1 a.m. local time.
Both vehicles took "significant damage," the RNC noted. The SUV’s driver and Hartnett both went to the hospital with "minor injuries." Even the officer involved went for a check-up, just to be safe. The RNC asked anyone who saw the crash or had video footage to contact them. Luckily, Hartnett’s representative told Us Weekly he was checked out and quickly released. He even got right back to work.
Hartnett is busy filming a new Netflix series there. IMDb calls it the "Untitled Netflix Newfoundland Series" for now. The show sounds exciting: it’s about a fisherman trying to protect his family and town after a scary sea creature terrorizes their remote village. He’s not alone in this project. Charlie Heaton from ‘Stranger Things’ and Mackenzie Davis from ‘Speak No Evil’ are also in the cast.
For many, Josh Hartnett was that big teen heartthrob from the late 90s. He starred in critically praised movies like ‘Pearl Harbor’ and ‘Black Hawk Down.’ But then, he chose a quieter path, stepping away from the Hollywood buzz. He opened up about this in a July 2024 chat with The Guardian. He felt the attention was "insane" back then. Hartnett simply "didn’t want [his] life to be absorbed by [his] work." He saw others "destroyed" by the constant pressure. "I didn’t want that for myself," he shared.
His big return came with ‘Oppenheimer’ in 2023. Christopher Nolan directed it, and it had a huge cast. Since then, he’s been busy. You can catch him in M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ and ‘Fight or Flight.’ He’s also set to star with Anne Hathaway in ‘Verity,’ based on Colleen Hoover’s best-selling novel.
Earlier this year, he talked to Us about picking new roles. He asks himself: "Is it unique? Is it something I haven’t done before?" He wants to surprise himself and the audience. He also thinks, "Will it be interesting for the audience to see me do it?" And a big one: "Will I be able to achieve it?" For ‘Fight or Flight,’ he wondered, "Can I still do it? I want to see if I can." He promises to give his all once he commits. He doesn’t want to "fool anyone" and wants viewers "completely entertained."