Josh Hartnett says he based ‘Trap’ serial killer on people in the film industry

Josh Hartnett took some inspiration from his real life for his recent role as a serial killer… and said he based his psychopath on others he’s met – in the film industry!

The actor sat down for an interview with Entertainment weekly Friday… and he talks about diving into the mind of a serial killer, as he did for his new film “Trap,” directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

Hartnett explains that there are many people at the top – CEOs, politicians and even people from the entertainment world – who will say or do anything to get what they want… regardless of the people they hurt in the process.

JH says a lack of empathy is a telltale sign of a psychopath… and he’s met a lot of people like this – implying he’s had contact with some seriously disturbed people in the film industry.

This ties in with other comments Josh made recently… he admitted that he left the film industry in part because he was afraid fame would overwhelm him.

Remember… Hartnett brought it up being stalked during a recent interview — and those experiences made him fear that H’wood would take his own life, so he left before he could.

BTW… Hartnett dug deep for his “Trap” performance, but critics are less than impressed with the final product. The film has a 47% score on Rotten Tomatoes, although many blame the writing and directing rather than Josh’s performance.