‘TRAP’ Exclusive: Josh Hartnett Speaks On Playing A Serial Killer Dad ‘They’re Hiding In Plain Sight’ (2024)

Have you checked out M. Night Shyamalan’s newest film TRAP?

The film, which arrived in theaters August 2, stars Josh Hartnett as Cooper, a suburban dad who accompanies his tween daughter to a concert to see her favorite artist, only to discover a trap has been set to catch a serial killer known as “The Butcher.” Unbeknownst to his daughter, Cooper has been living a double life that includes locking up innocent people in basem*nts before killing them. Now he faces the challenge of eluding law enforcement before they discover his true identity.

GlobalGrind Sr. Content Director Janeé Bolden sat down with Josh Hartnett to discuss preparing for the role, taking time away from Hollywood and hiding in plain sight as a white suburban dad who also happens to be a firefighter.

Josh Hartnett Studied Serial Killers For ‘TRAP’ Role

Hartnett said when it came to preparing for the role he had plenty of source material.

“A lot of reading books about serial killers and ones that were written recently about people that are still in captivity who are willing to talk,” Hartnett told GlobalGrind. “A lot of serial killers bizarrely are really willing to talk about their lives. They want attention so getting as much research in that department as possible and then speaking to Night [M. Night Shyamalan] about how he wanted the whole thing to move and where the character could go and then just trying to go as wild, like expand the character as much as possible, and very, very light, lights and very, very dark, darks and and hopefully make him feel completely credible throughout. A person like Cooper could exist and the thing that I found out from a lot of these books is that most of these guys are incredibly charming. They need to put you at ease if they’re gonna do what they want to do. They’re hiding in plain sight, so they’re very good actors. I thought that that was a fun thing to explore too, just that layering of character throughout, so like when he’s smiling he still might be thinking he’s gonna kill you. It’s a really cool character to explore because you don’t get things like this very often.”

Josh Hartnett Says ‘TRAP’ Character Is An Example Of How We All Have Acts

We found it interesting that Hartnett mentioned how serial killers often hide in plain sight. It’s incredibly striking that repeat offenders like Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy and John Wayne Gacy were able to get away with murder for years. We couldn’t help but think about how many times Black suspects are apprehended for crimes they haven’t committed, simply because they ‘fit the description.’ Meanwhile, in TRAP, Hartnett’s character is able to blend into the crowd.

“He cast me but I don’t know if this is meant to be a political statement,” Hartnett told GlobalGrind. “I think this is more a piece of entertainment. You have to ask Night why he hired me, as opposed to if there was a racial component to it. I didn’t really even think about it because I’m me, you know what I mean, like I couldn’t play another race. I couldn’t play a housewife. I just don’t think anybody would go for the housewife version of me. I would say that if you’re going to be someone that gets away with very dark things being someone who is outwardly seeming very credible and within society is is the best way to do it. That’s why he’s a fireman. That’s why he is a member of the PTA at school. It’s all about cover. What I related to was acts. We all have acts. I don’t think there’s a single person on this planet who presents themselves honestly. Look at Instagram, it’s all just, well nonsense. I’ve never met someone who is exactly like what they present. It’s just an extension of that.”

Josh Hartnett Says Leaving Hollywood Helped His Creativity

Hartnett also opened up about leaving Hollywood after finding huge success in the late 90’s and early ’00’s thanks to roles in The Virgin Suicides, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down and O. However, after marrying Tamsin Egerton, and having four daughters he primarily resides with his family in the UK.

“I think that creativity is only possible if you have space,” Hartnett said. “I don’t think that you can live all of your life in L.A., constantly talking about the movies and worrying about what the next person is doing and whether or not you got that job and grow as an artist entirely. I don’t think many people do that anymore, especially since the pandemic, people have allowed themselves a little bit more space. For my entire career, I’ve stayed away from being stuck in that grind, because I just get bored pretty easily and I don’t want to be constantly talking about the job I just did or the next job I want to do. It’s anxiety producing and I don’t need that anxiety. We live in the countryside and we’ve got a ton to worry about as far as with the kids and we’ve got some animals and there’s just stuff keeps us going that is completely outside of this business that kind of grounds me, or not even grounds me, it just takes my focus to a different place and i think it’s great.”

TRAP is in theaters now.