Josh Hartnett Turned Down Superman. So Why Is He Suddenly Everywhere?

On a British morning show last month, Josh Hartnett got the question that has followed him for more than twenty years: "You turned down Superman, didn't you?" His answer: "I mean, yes." This is the whole story, from Saint Paul, Minnesota, a video rental store and an expulsion letter to Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down in the same year, the Superman offers, the Batman story he wants to set straight, the year he walked away, the quiet life in Hampshire, and the comeback that runs through Christopher Nolan, M. Night Shyamalan and, this month, Verity and Netflix's Below. Would you have turned down Superman? Tell me in the comments. Chapters 0:00 The question he keeps getting 1:21 Saint Paul, Minnesota 2:52 Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down 4:38 Superman, Spider-Man and the Batman myth 6:06 Walking away 10:10 A life in Hampshire 11:20 The comeback 12:32 Verity and Below 13:47 Would you have said no? Facts as of October 2026: Verity opened at No. 1 in North America with an estimated $33.6 million (Oct. 2-4, 2026). All six episodes of Below premiere on Netflix on Oct. 8, 2026. Footage used for commentary and criticism: ITV This Morning (2026), Good Morning America / ABC News (2026), Vanity Fair (2024), CBC's Q with Tom Power (2024), Friday Night with Jonathan Ross / BBC (2004), The Hollywood Reporter (2026), TIFF (2026), BUILD Series (2016), Scene Stealers podcast (2026), Hits Radio (2022), Yahoo Australia (2021), AP (2017), Hollywood.com archive (2001), Jon Foss (2020), Jake's Takes (2023), and official trailers and clips from Netflix (Below), Amazon MGM Studios (Verity), Sony Pictures (Black Hawk Down, 30 Days of Night), Disney (Pearl Harbor), Warner Bros. (Trap), Vertical (Fight or Flight) and FX (The Bear). Photos (Wikimedia Commons): Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0; JoshPopov, CC BY-SA 4.0; Destiny Thing, CC BY 3.0; Gordon Correll, CC BY-SA 2.0; jpvargas, CC BY-SA 2.0; Ford Motor Company, CC BY 2.0; Mach240390, CC BY 4.0; Tony Webster, CC BY-SA 2.0; Matt Jones, CC0; Phil Wells, public domain; Rschaming, CC BY-SA 3.0; Thomas Wolf, CC BY-SA 3.0; dconvertini, CC BY-SA 2.0; Tom Morris, CC BY-SA 3.0; Oswald Bertram, CC BY-SA 2.0; Qwexcxewq, CC BY 4.0; Benson Kua, CC BY-SA 2.0; Infrogmation of New Orleans, CC BY-SA 3.0. Sources: Wikipedia, Variety, Netflix Tudum, The Guardian, Details (via HuffPost), NPR, Screen Rant. Music: "Comfortable Mystery," "Americana," "Inspired," "Hiding Your Reality," "Long Note Four," "Cattails," "Wholesome," "Laid Back Guitars" and "Unwritten Return" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 #JoshHartnett #Verity #Below #Netflix #Superman