The Stunning Transformation Of Josh Hartnett

A talent scout saw Josh Hartnett in a production of “Guys and Dolls” and gave him a card. By the time he graduated high school, Hartnett was acting in commercials. His manager, Nancy Kremer, insisted that he go to Hollywood. He went to college first, attending SUNY Purchase. Unhappy, Hartnett complained to school administrators about the “Darwinism” in the drama program, according to an interview with Vulture. Then he left school to make his way in Los Angeles. “A couple of years later, they offered me an honorary degree, before my contemporaries had even graduated. It was really strange,” he ruminated.

When Hartnett went to Hollywood, he realized that the City of Angels was nothing like what he’d expected. “I thought it was a bunch of guys in slouch hats carrying big planks, building sets, and singing, ‘Hi ho, hi ho, it’s off to work we go.’ I thought it was all going to be a community,” he told Vanity Fair.

Not so much, but that’s okay; Hartnett’s manager got him an agent right away. Soon, he was going out on four auditions a day. Kremer told Vanity Fair that her young protégé built buzz around town almost immediately. “The thing is, when he went out, every single call, he got a callback on, which is pretty much unheard of,” she said. “That’s just a gift from the heavens.”