It seems lately that we’ve found ourselves in something of aJosh Hartnettrenaissance. Between appearances inChristopher Nolan’sOppenheimer,Guy Ritchie’sWrath of Man, and the “Beyond the Sea” episode ofBlack Mirror, Hartnett has returned to the spotlight with as much excitement as ever. But before he stars inM. Night Shyamalan’s upcoming psychological thriller,Trap, we should revisit one of Hartnett’s most slept on roles, where he ventured into the horror genre to hack and slash some vampires. That’s right, we’re talking about the 2007 horror film,30 Days of Night, and if you haven’t seen this one recently, it’s one you ought to revisit after all this time.
30 Days of Night
A small Alaskan town is enveloped in darkness for an entire month, setting the stage for a terrifying invasion by a group of vampires. With no escape and communication cut off, the townspeople are thrust into a desperate fight for survival. The local sheriff, alongside a handful of determined survivors, must navigate the frigid, dark landscape while fending off the relentless vampire onslaught. As supplies dwindle and hope wanes, the group must use their wits and resilience to endure the harrowing ordeal.
Who Does Josh Hartnett Play in ‘30 Days of Night’?
For some background,30 Days of Nightwas originally penned bySteve Nilesas a feature film before it was eventuallyturned into a three-issue horror comic, but after the success of the IDW series,interest in a movie resumed. Eventually, directorDavid Sladeheadlined the feature adaptation, andJosh Hartnett was cast in the leading role of Sheriff Eben Oleson. In the comic, Eben is actually Eben Olemaun, a man seemingly of Inuit decent who was in a loving marriage with his wife Stella (played in the film byMelissa George), but the movie version changed that. While casting Hartnett is a bit controversial, he makes the role of Eben his own and manages to elevate the film tomore than just a hack-and-slash vampire thriller.
Hartnett plays the role of estranged husband well, and turns this clear shift from the source material into one of30 Days of Night’s most essential dynamics. Even though he and Stella have their issues,Hartnett makes it clear just how much Eben still cares about her. Be it the small looks or little ticks, he embodies a man wrestling with the notion that he might lose his wife forever, if not because of their own problems, then because of the vampires lurking at their doorstep.30 Days of Nightalready has a particularly strong cast that includesDanny Huston,Ben Foster, andfutureArrowstarManu Bennett, but none of that matters if Eben Oleson isn’t the type of protagonist you want to root for. Unsurprisingly, Hartnett kills it here, and we jump aboard the Eben train almost immediately.
In many ways, Hartnett’s Eben almost feels like a precursor toAndrew Lincoln’s Rick Grimes fromThe Walking Dead, not so much in their cadence, but rather the common themes between them. Both are sheriffs of small towns that wake up one day to find the world isn’t how they knew it. Be it vampires or zombies, they fight desperately to protect their family (and patch things up with their estranged wives), even at the potential cost of their own lives. In30 Days of Night,Josh Hartnett proves his mettle as both a leading man and paves the way for future apocalyptic genre protagonists. Yes, this is so much more than a horror movie; it’s a character drama about the lengths you’ll go to protect those you love,even if it means chopping off a little girl’s head. (Seriously.)
Josh Hartnett Takes Big Risks That Pay Off in the Vampire Movie
In many ways, Josh Hartnett carries this film. His steady performance makes Eben feel like one of the few really relatable characters in the picture;the emotional turmoil Hartnett conveys as Eben deals expertly with not just survival in the wake of a vampire invasion, but also his own messy marriage. That’s no small feat. He’s never too over the top, but instead keeps his composure throughout. There’s a believable competence that he gives to Eben which makes him a character worth rooting for.
Even ifvampire moviesaren’t really your thing, you can find some meaty human drama in30 Days of Night. Okay, maybe the blood and the guts and the gore is a bit over the top (and is certainly too much for this author also), but Hartnett’s commitment to the role of Eben Oleson makes it all nearly worth it. By the time we near the third act, and Eben recognizes that the only way out of this is through it,there’s a hopelessness in Hartnett’s eyes that is quickly put out, replaced with an endearing sense of responsibility that prompts him to make an impossible choice. The way30 Days of Nightends, which we won’t spoil for you here, is deliciously heartbreaking (ifMidnight Massmade you weep, then watch out), but it’s the way that Hartnett plays the game that convinces us as such.
Thewinter landscapeaids in the intensity of30 Days of Nightthat drives these characters to make some pretty terrible decisions, yet throughout it all, Hartnett plays the straight man who keeps a moral code despite the high strangeness around him. Of course, even when he breaks that code to save a life, he manages to rectify even that decision and prevent himself from stumbling any further. There’s no denying that Josh Hartnett is the reason30 Days of Nightworks as more than just a spooky horror movie. Without a strong leading man such as him, the film wouldn’t have landed the same way nor would it have the emotional weight necessary for the material. No wonderHartnett was almost cast as Superman.
Sam Raimi Convinced Josh Hartnett to Audition for ‘30 Days of Night’
Funny enough, Josh Hartnett only took on the role of Eben Oleson becausehe was convinced to do so by producerSam Raimi, whoonce remarkedthat30 Days of Nightwas “unlike the horror films of recent years.” “It took me a little bit to kind of become involved because I wasn’t quite looking for anything, any film like this,” Hartnett toldEmpire Magazinein 2009, noting that it was Raimi who helped him to take the film seriously. “[Raimi] gave me a call and told me that, you know, aside from this being a vampire film, it was going to be something that was, you know, quite elevated.” The idea that30 Days of Nightwas going to be more than “just running and screaming” was appealing to Hartnett, and he decided to give the horror flick a shot.'
“…I thought it was a really interesting concept,” the actor continued. “Something that was new and simple, you know, in a certain way.“It was this simplicity of the story that pulled Hartnett in after he first read the graphic novel and later the screenplay itself. Hartnett revealed that he brought some of his childhood with him, having grown up in Minnesota with a clear understanding of the cold and the fear associated with it. In many ways, the role felt more as if it were pulled from his personal experience rather than being a simple adaptation of a comic book. Hartnett also describes30 Days of Nightas something more than just a horror film, calling it a “Western style suspense thriller,” which is a spot-on way to describe it.
It’s hard to imagine anyone else playing Sheriff Eben Oleson in30 Days of Night. The film itself was successful enough to warrant a prequel and sequel miniseries, as well as a direct-to-video sequel film,30 Days of Night: Dark Days, which followed Stella (withKiele Sanchezreplacing Melissa George in the role) in the aftermath of the first picture. Hartnett did not return for any of the other productions, but that’s okay. His time as Eben is memorable as it is, and is one of those roles that isn’t worth revisiting because of the completeness of it. If you’ve missed out on30 Days of Nightin the past, there’s no time like the present to give it a shot. Just be sure you keep the lights on.
30 Days of Nightis available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
