Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson: What Really Happened Between the Black Dahlia Co-Stars

Hollywood has a funny way of making you forget things. We get so wrapped up in the current "it" couples—the ones dominating your Instagram feed right now—that we completely lose track of the absolute powerhouses that paved the way. Take Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson.

Today, she’s an MCU icon with a couple of Oscar nods and a rock-solid marriage to Colin Jost. He’s currently enjoying a massive "Hartnett-naissance" thanks to Oppenheimer and M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap. But back in 2005? They were the "It" couple of the moment. They were young, ridiculously attractive, and seemingly everywhere.

And then, just like that, they weren't.

If you weren't scouring the tabloids in the mid-2000s, you might have missed how intense this pairing actually was. It wasn't just a "movie set fling." It was a relationship that, according to Hartnett himself, was "really painful" when it ended. Looking back, their story is less about a typical celebrity breakup and more about two people trying to navigate the peak of "paparazzi culture" before anyone knew how to handle it.

The Black Dahlia: Where It All Started

They met on the set of The Black Dahlia. It was a Brian De Palma noir film that, honestly, didn't quite live up to the hype at the box office. But behind the scenes? The chemistry was very real. Hartnett played Bucky Bleichert, and Johansson played Kay Lake. In the movie, they're caught in this dark, twisted love triangle.

Off-camera, things were a lot simpler at first. They started dating in 2005. At the time, Josh was 27 and Scarlett was just 20. Think about that for a second. At 20, she was already one of the most famous women on the planet. Josh was coming off the back of Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down. They were essentially the king and queen of the indie-turned-mainstream scene.

They weren't the type to do "staged" paparazzi walks. They were actually pretty low-key. They were spotted grabbing coffee in New York's Lower East Side or hanging out at Max Fish. Scarlett even gave a rare, sweet quote to Allure back in 2006, calling him a "good boy" and saying she felt "very lucky."

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But the industry was different then. You couldn't just post a curated photo on your own terms. You were at the mercy of the long lenses.

Why They Actually Broke Up

By 2007, it was over. People always want to find a scandalous reason—a secret affair or some massive blow-up on a red carpet. The reality was much more boring, and honestly, way more relatable.

Josh Hartnett eventually opened up about it to the Mirror. He basically said that their schedules killed the relationship. "It was difficult spending so much time apart with all our different commitments and both of us flying all over the world," he admitted.

Think about the logistics. She was filming The Prestige and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. He was busy with Lucky Number Slevin and 30 Days of Night. When you're both A-listers at the absolute peak of your demand, you aren't just "busy." You're living on different continents for six months at a time.

There's also the "trial dating" aspect. Hartnett has since warned young actors against dating their co-stars. When you're on set, you're in a bubble. You develop a "fantasy" about the person because you're working with them every single day in this intense, fabricated environment. When the cameras stop rolling and you both go back to your real lives in different cities, that fantasy usually hits a brick wall.

The "Diamond Shoes" Problem

Hartnett once shared a story about complaining to a friend about the pressures of his life during that era. His friend’s response? "Oh my God, my diamond shoes are too tight."

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It’s a hilarious reality check. Yeah, he was dating Scarlett Johansson and making millions, but the lack of privacy was starting to grate on him. He felt "gutted" after the split. Some sources at the time even suggested that the constant public pressure and the "paparazzi around every corner" led to rows because they were both just... exhausted.

The Aftermath: Two Very Different Paths

What’s wild is how their lives diverged right after the breakup.

Scarlett stayed in the machine. She married Ryan Reynolds in 2008 (a marriage she later admitted she was probably too young for), and eventually became the highest-paid actress in the world. She played the Hollywood game and won.

Josh did the opposite. He famously walked away.

He turned down the chance to play Batman in Christopher Nolan's trilogy. He turned down Superman. He moved back to Minnesota for a while. He wanted a life that wasn't defined by the "next big thing." He’s since said that trying to stay at the top is a "shortcut to unhappiness."

Interestingly, when Nolan was casting The Prestige, he didn't just hire Christian Bale (his Batman). He also hired Scarlett Johansson, who was Hartnett's girlfriend at the time. Josh later mentioned that his decision to pass on Batman might have cost him other roles with Nolan back then. It’s one of those "what if" moments in Hollywood history.

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What We Can Learn From Their Story

It's easy to look at celebrity relationships as performance art. But with Josh Hartnett and Scarlett Johansson, it felt like two people genuinely trying to make it work in a system designed to break them.

• Distance is a relationship killer, no matter how famous you are.
• The "Work-Life" trap is real. Even in 2026, we see this: if your entire life is your career, your personal connections will suffer.
• Privacy is a luxury. Hartnett’s choice to step back probably saved his sanity, even if it "stalled" his career for a decade.

If you’re looking for a takeaway from the Hartnett-Johansson era, it’s this: sometimes the best thing for your mental health is to stop playing the game everyone expects you to win. Josh did that. He’s now married to Tamsin Egerton, lives a quiet life in the UK, and only takes roles that actually interest him. Scarlett found her balance, too, eventually landing with someone like Colin Jost who seems to keep her grounded.

If you want to revisit their on-screen chemistry, go watch The Black Dahlia. It’s a bit of a mess, but you can see exactly why the world was obsessed with them for those two years.

To keep track of Josh Hartnett's current comeback, check out his recent work in Black Mirror or Trap. It’s a masterclass in how to rebuild a career on your own terms.

Next Steps for the Fan & Researcher:

1. Watch The Black Dahlia (2006): Pay attention to the scenes between Bucky and Kay to see the real-life chemistry that sparked their two-year romance.
2. Read Hartnett's 2024 Interviews: Look for his discussions on the "Hartnett-naissance" to see how his perspective on fame has evolved since the mid-2000s.
3. Compare Career Trajectories: Analyze Johansson's transition from indie darling to Marvel powerhouse alongside Hartnett's move toward character-driven independent cinema.