Rarely do you hear of someone stepping out of the spotlight just as their star is rising. But thats exactly what Josh Hartnett did 15 years ago.

He had just experienced a huge amount of success with back-to-back roles in 2001s Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down when the so-called it guy decided to pack his bags and head back home to Minnesota.

I think it can be an unhealthy environment, Hartnett told HuffPost of Hollywood and his unlikely departure. To get so consumed with chasing a goal that doesnt necessarily have to define you is a fools errand and I wanted to have a healthy perspective on it. Not only a healthy perspective on the fame itself, but the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of surface values.

Hartnett, now 39, was in his early 20s when he made the decision to take a step back. He had the gusto to turn down iconic on-screen roles like Christopher Nolans Batman in order to go on a journey of self-discovery one that would lead him back into the industry by way of indie film. After starring in a handful of low-budget flicks in the mid-to-late-2000s, Hartnett landed the role of Ethan Chandler in the Showtime series Penny Dreadful, which put him back on the map in 2014. Almost every headline about him during that time read, What Happened To Josh Hartnett? Or, Josh Hartnett Is Making A Comeback .

When the show ended in 2016, Hartnett got back into exploratory filmmaking, working with a lot of emerging directors whose style piqued his interest, including Atsuko Hirayanagi and Alexandra McGuinness. In some way, the excitement surrounding these projects relates back to Hartnetts own journey in the business, a journey in which he carved his own path.