M. Night Shyamalan and Josh Hartnett’s collaboration in the horror mystery Trap recently hit streaming platforms after earning positive reviews. But while people are appreciating the 2024 film that takes a sharp turn from a mere father-daughter fun time to become a ploy to catch a deadly serial killer, Hartnett doesn’t consider the film as his career highlight.
Despite working with the legendary filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan in Trap, Josh Hartnett believes his casting in Black Mirror Season 6 was the most revered performance of his career. Particularly due to his gut-wrenching scene in Beyond the Sea, which hit too close to home. Hartnett noted putting more effort into Black Mirror, than perhaps in Trap.
Josh Hartnett’s Role in Netflix’s Black Mirror Set the Bar High
Despite initially beginning his career as a Hollywood heartthrob, Josh Hartnett gradually divided his filmography into a healthy mix of horror, action, suspense, and drama. From appearing in several critically acclaimed movies like Oppenheimer, and collaborating with legendary filmmakers like M. Night Shyamalan in Trap, Hartnett transformed his career into an envious one.
Well, his recent horror mystery Trap, under the direction of M. Night Shyamalan had been one of his dream projects. Josh Hartnett had previously admitted to Newsweek, how he had always been fascinated by the idea of working with Shyamalan since watching his modern ghost story The Sixth Sense. However, despite fulfilling his dream of working with Shyamalan, Hartnett hailed Black Mirror as his career highlight.
Irrespective of the mind-bending twist and thick plot of Trap, which initially shocked fans on the big screen and recently took to entertaining audiences on streaming platforms, Josh Hartnett turned towards the sci-fi mystery series Black Mirror that set the bar high. Highlighting how the Netflix series not only served fans with perplexing twists like Trap but also had a major impact on his psyche, Hartnett recalled his traumatizing episode.
Appearing in Season 6, Episode 3 of Netflix’s Black Mirror, alongside Aaron Paul, Josh Hartnett dived into the dystopian sci-fi series episode. Beyond the Sea portrayed him as an astronaut living in a futuristic world where technology allowed humans to transfer their consciousness into replica bodies. At first glance, what appeared like a limitless possibility quickly turned dark after Hartnett’s character was forced to confront the murder of his family while trapped in his replica body.
Josh Hartnett Had Trouble Shrugging off the Traumatic Scene
Therefore, while Trap delivered a gripping tale of a psycho killer with its share of tension and suspense, it lacked the gut-wrenching emotional stakes that Black Mirror offered. Thus reflecting on the traumatizing scene of witnessing his family’s murder in the show, Josh Hartnett described it as particularly challenging, during his interview with Variety. Stating how it resonated with him on a personal level, Hartnett revealed how it left him shaken.
We did that for two nights, and it was really horrible. It was horrible to imagine because that’s the only way I can do it. I’m not much of an actor. I have to really put myself in a situation. That’s the job. Sometimes you have to go to places you don’t want to go to.
Revealing how he put himself into the shoes of his character to exhibit real-life emotions, Josh Hartnett mentioned the downside of that method. Admitting how his habit of putting himself in the situation took a toll on his psyche, and hit too close to home, given his family-oriented nature, Hartnett mentioned struggling to shrug off the episode’s premise after the scenes finished filming.
I’m not great at getting out of it, especially if it’s hard to get into. It takes about the same amount of kind of effort to come out because I can’t just pick it up and put it down.
Thus, while both Black Mirror and Trap happened to be compelling in their own rights, the emotional intensity of Beyond the Sea stood out as a defining moment in Josh Hartnett’s career. The chilling experience of filming that harrowing scene from the Netflix show resonated deeply with him and even had a lasting impact on his psychology.
Trap is currently available to watch on Max.
Black Mirror is streaming on Netflix.
