Josh Hartnett has spoken out about turning down chances to play Superman, Batman and Spider-Man.
The actor was offered the lead role in the 2006 Superman Returns, but turned it down because he didn’t want to by typecast as one of the big superheroes at such a young age.
Talking with Details, he said:
“Spider-Man was something we talked about. Batman was another one, but I somehow knew those roles had potential to define me, and I didn’t want that.
I didn’t want to be labeled as Superman for the rest of my career. I was maybe 22, but I saw the danger.”
When asked if his agents were angry with him following his decision, he said:
“I didn’t have those agents for much longer after that.
There was a lot of infighting between my manager and agents, trying to figure out who to put the blame on. It got to the point where none of us were able to work together.”
When asked if he would accept such a role today, he said:
“I’d say, ‘Let’s talk about how it would be done, see if we can get on the same page’. Compromise doesn’t scare me anymore.”
Hartnett will next star in Showtime thriller Penny Dreadful, along with Eva Green, Timothy Dalton, Billie Piper and others.
Penny Dreadful premieres on May 11 in the US.