by Paul Fischer

There is a key moment in Josh Hartnett's latest film, Hollywood Homicide, where Hartnett's character, cop K. C. Calden, admits to his veteran partner (played by Harrison Ford) that he'd rather be an actor than a cop. For Hartnett, the idea of having a career crisis is something the 24-year old Hollywood heartthrob can understand. Often publicity shy, Hartnett is far more relaxed this time around as he admits that one of the attractions of Hollywood Homicide was that "it was exactly what I was kinda feeling at the time," he confesses. "Everybody in their mid-twenties changes careers, or cities in which they live. They're like 'Who am I and what do I want to be when I grow up?' Nobody has any idea. I mean everybody always says that the thirties are easier, so we're in this constant state of flux, a little bit of internal turmoil. I just thought that this character was an absurd version of that."

Though it's hard to imagine Hartnett, currently at the peak of his success, willing to give up his acting career, but if he did, he says "probably go back to school for awhile and find something else to do even though now it seems a detriment to be a college grad. I always wanted to be a painter and if I had the means I might just hermit myself away and try and do that for awhile."

Meanwhile, this most reluctant of stars teams up with veteran Harrison Ford in the comedy thriller Hollywood Homicide. The young actor clearly found working with Ford a challenge because, as Hartnett concedes," Harrison loves to mess with your mind. When I first started, he has to the push everybody, has to test people, and that's his way of dealing with them because there are a lot of sick things out there, and he's being doing this forever. I don't think he suffers fools lightly, so he wants to make sure that you're not a fool, therefore he pushes your buttons for a long time, then eventually you just have to say Harrison, I'm going to kill you. By the end of it we ended up getting along really well."

Both actors try and avoid the whole Hollywood scene, as much as possible. It's easier for Hartnett, who still refuses to live in Los Angeles, preferring the safety net of Minnesota, where his family and long-time girlfriend, all reside. Hartnett clearly despises LA, as a city that he says is "geared more towards celebrities, like everybody's way too affected to care. I mean, if God himself could walk down the street here, people would be like: yeah he's so out there." Staying put in Minnesota is one thing that keeps the actor grounded, as well as his friends and family. "I was raised to think for myself and try not to get caught up in things, so I guess I'm just trying to find my way." That includes ignoring much that is written about him, including the whole sex symbol tag. "It's totally flattering to have people think that you're attractive physically, but I don't know man. In order to keep perspective I just try to really evaluate what matters to me at any given time." Including an attempt at a forging a normal relationship with