Josh Hartnett might have been born in San Francisco, but he was raised in St. Paul, Minnesota and considers that his hometown. Josh Hartnett got into acting after an injury kept him off the high school football team. Josh Hartnett's aunt encouraged him to audition for the school play and he landed the lead role. Graduated from South High School in Minneapolis, Minnesota in June of 1996, then attended SUNY in Purchase, New York. By April of 1997, he was offered the role of Michael Fitzgerald in the short-lived American television series "Cracker". Josh started off doing small plays and national commercials, but is beginning to break into the big-screen movie business with his starring role in Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998). Hartnett proved a commanding screen presence when cast in the Robert Rodriguez-Kevin Williamson sci-fi teen thriller "The Faculty" (also 1998) as Zeke.

With the requisite teen horror credits behind him and a clued-in young audience in his corner, Hartnett would next prove himself in Sofia Coppola's feature directorial debut "The Virgin Suicides" (1999). Also starred in less impressive romantic drama "Here on Earth", played the son of Warren Beatty and Diane Keaton in the comedy-drama "Town & Country" (2001) & showcased a capable northern British accent in "Blow Dry". Cast in a lead role in Michael Bay's epic "Pearl Harbor", Hartnett was poised to enter the ranks of young Hollywood's elite. Another light romantic comedy, "40 Days and 40 Nights" proved to everyone that he was capable of being a versatile performer. The fact that he has shunned Hollywood in favor of his hometown, St. Paul, Minnesota, is indicative that his feet are planted on the ground, despite his heartthrob status.