Hartnett & Soul
Global heartthrob Josh Hartnett opens up to FQR’s Elisabeth von Thurn und Taxis about being good, doing good and looking good
What charity are you particularly passionate about?
I work with several charities and I would say that I am, hopefully, equally passionate about all of them. As far as I’m concerned, because of being involved in the arts and since my family is kind of involved too, I tend to be more swayed by charities involved in the arts. A friend of mine has this charity that I have been contributing to and that I kept going called Dramatic Need, which gives underprivileged kids in South Africa the chance to use their creativity and develop their artistic skills.
I read that you are planning on doing hands-on work for Dramatic Need in South Africa. Is this true?
Yes, hopefully in the next year. It’s a two-month commitment so it’s a big chunk of time but I will, hopefully, be able to do that.
Do you have any memorable moment or anecdote involving your charitable work that you would like to share?
When I first got involved in the Chicago Avenue Project in Minneapolis I did a little play. We were trying to solidify how these projects were going to work as they were still in their early stages. I remember this one kid, Jordan. He was so creative and inspiring, it was exciting. Any time you get to help someone on a personal level is inspiring.
What is your view on the media typically criticising celebrities for doing charitable work merely to polish up their profiles?
Well, I think you can say that about anybody. People like to pick on celebrities because they are something other and then they don’t have to look at themselves. But I bet you anything that if you ask one of the journalists who writes that kind of stuff whether they do any charitable work the answer is probably going to be no – and if they do it’s probably for work or they just give money to relieve themselves from some kind of guilt. The best thing about charitable work is being involved on a molecular level, seeing how it works and working with people. Just writing a cheque is not that interesting. How it goes with actors and such is that often the best thing you can do is to raise a charity’s profile and use yourself as a figurehead. So it can then look like I’m just there for me, although, really, it’s not at all the case. The media have made such a big deal out of celebrities acting like they are overly earnest to hide something, that people now automatically assume actors are doing charitable work just to brush up their image. So, really, it’s not even that good for our image any more.
What got you interested in charity work in the first place?
I have always had charity work in my life just because my family has done charity work. My aunt had a charity called Books for Africa and I used to work there as a kid, helping divide and search through books that were still in good enough shape to send over to schools in Africa.
If you could make one wish for any of your charities, what would it be?
Funding. If there were limitless funding for all these charities the world would be in a much better place. There are so many charities and so many people working for so many different charities. The money is all divided up and that’s good in a way, but we can always do more. Funding and individuals volunteering their time is all that charities rely on.
Do you have a charitable hero?
I am in awe of my friend Amber who runs Dramatic Need because she has done it with absolutely nothing and has gone out there because she is passionate about it. She has used every dollar she has to get this thing going, without even a guarantee that the charity itself was going to continue – and she is still struggling now. I find that putting your life aside and going out there to do something hands-on in the field far away from your own home, is inspiring. Being able to give up something in your own life for somebody else is very inspiring.
- Actor Josh Hartnett is an ambassador for Dramatic Need (www.dramaticneed.org).
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March 2nd, 2009 at 1:50 am
This makes me pause……we never look beyond the “eye candy” persona! I’m glad that Jhart (what I call Mr. Hartnett) is more than meets the eye! Bravo!!!
Good article!