Josh Hartnett’s Villain Roles Ranked From Least to Most Significant

Josh Hartnett has been working in the independent film sphere for years, but he’s finally starting to get some mainstream recognition again and fans are here for it. Recently, he’s worked with Christopher Nolan on Oppenheimer and M. Night Shyamalan on Trap. He’s appeared in FX’s The Bear in a guest role, and he just starred in the action movie Fight or Flight.

Prior to Hartnett’s recent career resurgence, the 46-year-old actor was best known as a 1990s heartthrob and star of the exquisitely Gothic Showtime series Penny Dreadful from 2014 to 2016, where he played fan favorite Ethan Chandler. Hartnett has portrayed plenty of likable characters, but he’s taken on some pretty compelling villain roles too over the course of his career. Some of these characters are more sinister than others, but Hartnett plays each one to the fullest.

7

‘Sin City’ (2005)

Sin City

Release Date

April 1, 2005

Runtime

124 minutes

Sequel(s)

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

Based on Frank Miller’s comic series, Sin City is a crime drama directed by Miller and Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico). The neo-noir movie, which is predominantly in black and white with a few key accent colors, is divided into six parts. Some of these stories intersect, while others are only tangentially related. The cast is stacked with stars, including Bruce Willis (Die Hard), Jessica Alba (Honey), Clive Owen (The Knick), Rosario Dawson (Haunted Mansion), Benicio del Toro (Sicario), Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Brittany Murphy (Uptown Girls), Elijah Wood (Yellowjackets), and Alexis Bledel (Gilmore GIrls).

The Salesman

Hartnett has a small but significant role in Sin City. He plays an assassin known as The Man or The Salesman. He appears in a suit with slicked-back hair at the beginning and end of the film. There’s a mysterious, sinister quality to his character, though very little is revealed about him.

6

‘August’ (2008)

august

Release Date

May 16, 2008

Runtime

88

Director

Austin Chick

Writers

Howard A. Rodman

August is a financial drama set against the backdrop of start-up culture on Wall Street just weeks before the September 11 attack on the World Trade Center. The film is directed by Austin Chick (XX/XY) with a script by Howard A. Rodman (Savage Grace). Josh Hartnett and Adam Scott (Severance) star as brothers Tom and Joshua Sterling, who run an internet startup called Landshark. The supporting cast includes Naomie Harris (No Time to Die), Robin Tunney (The Craft), Andre Royo (The Wire), and David Bowie (Labyrinth).

Trouble on Wall Street

While Scott’s Joshua is more business-minded, Hartnett’s Tom is a fast-living showman who gets into serious trouble when the tech bubble bursts. He’s reckless in business as well as his personal relationships, both of which are now unraveling. Tom is undoubtedly the film’s main character, but he’s also a villain protagonist who doesn’t understand how to be there for other people.

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5

‘She’s Missing’ (2018)

She’s Missing

Release Date

March 1, 2019

Runtime

103 minutes

Director

Alexandra McGuinness

Producers

Dominic Wright, Jacqueline Kerrin, Eamonn Cleary, Anna O’Malley, Graham Appleby

Written and directed by Alexandra McGuinness (Riders), She’s Missing is a psychological thriller set in the desert. When aspiring rodeo queen Jane (Eiza González) goes missing, her best friend Heidi (Lucy Fry) will do anything to find her. It doesn’t matter how far she has to go or who she meets along the way.

Cult Leader

Nothing says red flag like a cult leader, and that is exactly who Josh Hartnett plays in She’s Missing. Ren (Hartnett) is a mysterious man who appears at Jane’s wedding shortly before the disappearance. Heidi meets him and his followers again as she searches for her missing friend. Ren is the type of cult leader who gives his followers hallucinogenic drugs, which makes Heidi’s quest even more complicated.

4

‘Black Mirror’ (2023)

Black Mirror

Release Date

December 4, 2011

Network

Channel 4, Netflix

Directors

Owen Harris, Toby Haynes, James Hawes, David Slade, Carl Tibbetts, Ally Pankiw, Bryn Higgins, Dan Trachtenberg, Euros Lyn, Jodie Foster, Joe Wright, John Hillcoat, Sam Miller, Tim Van Patten, Uta Briesewitz, Colm McCarthy, Jakob Verbruggen, James Watkins, John Crowley, Otto Bathurst, Anne Sewitsky, Brian Welsh

Writers

Jesse Armstrong

Hartnett stars in Season 6, Episode 3 of Netflix’s Black Mirror anthology series. The episode is called “Beyond the Sea” and it is directed by John Crowley (We Live in Time) with a script by Charlie Brooker (Cunk on Earth). In an alternate version of 1969, Cliff Stanfield (Aaron Paul) and David Ross (Hartnett) are astronauts working on a space mission. To spend time with their families, each temporarily transports his consciousness to an artificial copy of himself down on Earth.

Two Families Destroyed

David suffers a devastating loss when his family is murdered by a group that doesn’t believe humans should have artificial copies. Mourning the loss of his family and unable to return to his copy, which the intruders destroyed, David receives a lifeline when Cliff allows him to visit Earth using his own copy. Instead of aiding David in his grief, these trips to Earth make David more and more obsessed with Cliff’s family — and what happens as a result is chilling.

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3

‘Exterminate All the Brutes’ (2021)

Exterminate All the Brutes is a four-part HBO documentary series written and directed by Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro). The series traces exploitation and genocide through European colonialism, stretching from Africa to America over centuries. In 2022, Exterminate All the Brutes won a Peabody Award in the Documentary category.

Colonialism Across History

Peck narrates each episode, and Hartnett appears as a character labeled only as White Man. This character reoccurs throughout the series and represents white colonialism, standing in for the murderous actions and deeds of colonizers throughout history.

2

‘Trap’ (2024)

Trap

1.5
/5

Release Date

August 2, 2024

Warner Bros. went all out promoting Trap, a serial killer thriller written and directed by horror legend M. Night Shyamalan (The Sixth Sense). The premise is simple: a man takes his daughter to see her favorite pop singer perform live at a big concert venue. While there, the man learns that the entire concert has actually been a setup designed to capture a local serial killer. The catch? This seemingly average father is the serial killer.

A Hidden Double-Life

Hartnett stars as Philadelphia firefighter, family man, and secret serial killer, Cooper. Reviews for Trap have been mixed, though predominantly positive. Critics and audiences credit Hartnett for delivering a captivating performance as a killer struggling to compartmentalize his life as a father and life as a murderer while the police close in on his identity. Hartnett won a Golden Scythe Horror Award for his performance as Cooper.

1

‘O’ (2001)

O

Release Date

August 31, 2001

Runtime

95 minutes

Writers

Brad Kaaya

Producers

Anthony Rhulen, Daniel Fried, Eric Gitter, Michael I. Levy, William Shively, Stephen A. Kepniss

Character actor Tim Blake Nelson (The Ballad of Buster Scruggs) directs O, a contemporary adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello. The film is set at a prestigious private school and traces the tragic fall of basketball star Odin James (Mekhi Phifer). The supporting cast includes Julia Stiles (Hustlers), Elden Henson (Daredevil), Andrew Keegan (10 Things I Hate about You), Rain Phoenix (Violet), and Martin Sheen (The Departed).

Lies and Betrayal

Hartnett plays student Hugo Goulding, who is based on the scheming Iago in Othello. Covetous of Odin’s success and popularity, Hugo carefully constructs a deadly plan to ruin Odin’s life. O marks Hartnett’s first turn as a villain and remains one of his most memorable characters. He’s brooding, bitter, and cunning as he plots his own friend’s downfall.

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