Josh Hartnett has opened up about turning his back on Hollywood to raise his four children on a quiet English farm.

Despite his A-list status, the Oppenheimer star stepped away from Los Angeles to build a low-key life in Hampshire, South East England, with his wife, British actress Tamsin Egerton.

Located an hour outside London, the rural property includes a barn, a large backyard, and space for goats, chickens and guinea pigs.

Speaking on This Morning, the 48-year-old actor admitted his quiet lifestyle was a world away from the red carpet.

“We’ve got a little farm, tiny little farm,” Hartnett said. “A lot of animals, we have four kids, so it’s busy.

“My life is my family life, and then every once in a while I come out and do something like this, which is such an anomaly for me.”

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Josh Hartnett with his wife, British actress Tamsin Egerton. Picture: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images

Despite his A-list status, the Oppenheimer star stepped away from Los Angeles to build a low-key life in Hampshire, South East England. Picture: Theo Wargo/Getty Images

Hartnett said he felt far more grounded today than during the height of his early stardom.

He added that feeling like “a foreigner in my own home” alongside his English wife and children kept him humble.

The move follows his decision years ago to walk away from Los Angeles to avoid becoming consumed by the movie business.

“Hollywood is more than a place, it’s like a state of mind,” Hartnett told The Guardian in 2024.

“If you’re around people who are constantly talking about the movie business, your life is going to be pretty much one note. And I’ve never wanted that.

“I just never really vibed with L.A. because I’m not a big fan of sitting in the car all day.”

Actor (l-r) Eric Bana with Josh Hartnett and Tom Sizemore in scene from film

Hartnett with Eric Banaand Tom Sizemore in Black Hawk Down.

Actor Shannyn Sossamon with Josh Hartnett scene from film

Hartnetw with Shannyn Sossamon in 40 Days and 40 Nights.

After breakout roles in Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down, the heart-throb famously rejected big-budget blockbusters, including playing Superman twice and took an 18-month break from acting.

“I just didn’t want my life to be swallowed up by my work,” he said.

“You saw what happened to some people back then. They got obliterated by it. I didn’t want that for myself.”

As part of his shift away from the US, the actor offloaded his US real estate portfolio.

Hartnett sold a historic 1887 Victorian home on Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis for $US2.3m ($A3.4m) in 2015.

The 40 Days and 40 Nights star later offloaded a Tribeca loft apartment in New York with a rooftop terrace, which he bought in 2004 for $2.4m ($A3.5m)

He also parted ways with a 1920s French-style compound in Los Angeles, complete with a hidden speak-easy and plunge pool, in an all-cash $4.43m ($A6.5m) deal.

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