Home is where the Hartnett is after Josh snubbed Superman (Picture: MRPORTER.COM)

He was once Tinseltown’s hottest property… but Josh Hartnett walked out on Hollywood, deciding he would rather be Superdad than Superman.

The Pearl Harbor heart-throb says he didn’t fancy being the sort of A-lister who worried about when the ‘next big thing’ would be snapping at his heels.

His decision also meant snubbing an offer to play Superman in a rumoured $100million (£72million) three- picture deal. Josh, now married to St Trinian’s star Tamsin Egerton, is happy to be living a quieter life as a 42-year-old dad-of- three.

‘The guys who are on top are terrified that someone’s coming up behind them,’ he explained.

‘If that’s your real ambition, to be on top all the time, you’re going to spend your whole life looking over your shoulder.

‘I never wanted that. I want to do good work with people I like and spend my free time with people I care about.’

Superman’s cape was eventually snapped up by Henry Cavill, and Josh added: ‘At the time, it was so obvious to me to turn it down. I was being offered movies by the very top directors. And Superman was a risk. Yes, there was a lot of money involved but I didn’t think that was the be-all and end-all’.

Safe Harbor: Josh, posing for Mr Porter, would rather be with wife Tamsin (Picture: Ben Weller/MRPORTER.COM)