Josh Hartnett and Charlie Heaton talk father-son bonding on ‘Below’

Josh Hartnett and Charlie Heaton know how to brood.

The actors both rose to fame in their early 20s playing characters prone to suffering and sulking: Hartnett became a heartthrob in the late ’90s and early 2000s with bland roles in movies like “The Virgin Suicides,” “Pearl Harbor” and “Black Hawk Down.” Heaton, meanwhile, has spent the last decade playing introvert Jonathan Byers on “Stranger Things.”

But now the duo wears their hearts on their sleeves. “Under,” The six-episode Netflix miniseries is streaming now. In this series, they play a father and son living in a foggy Newfoundland fishing village who are increasingly terrorized by something mysterious in the iceberg-filled waters.

The actors playing Calvin and Wade Penney in “Below” are passionate and emotional. They engage in animated family arguments and celebrate gleefully when things (occasionally) go their way.

“It’s all on the page,” Hartnett said. “All I had to do was show up and feel those things about Charlie.”

Filmed in Newfoundland, Canada, “Below” is the unexpected latest project for 48-year-old Hartnett, who has experienced a career renaissance in recent years with roles in “Black Mirror,” “Oppenheimer,” “Trap” and this month’s “Verity.”

Heaton, 32, is likewise diversifying his portfolio after Stranger Things. He played a down-on-his-luck financial journalist in the fourth season of “Industry” and will next appear in the “Peaky Blinders” sequel.

“I like to surprise people, and maybe I like to surprise myself too,” Heaton said.

When they met for a joint video interview in late September, Heaton had recently returned home to London after shooting a music video. Hartnett had just finished putting his four children to bed (with his wife, actor Tamsin Egerton) at their rural home in Hampshire, England. These are edited excerpts from the speech.

What attracted you both to this project?

Hartnett: I was on “Black Mirror” a few years ago, and Jessica Rhoades, the producer of “Black Mirror,” sent me the movie. [“Below”] The script is probably about two months before production begins. I loved the script but I had some questions so I had to talk Ashley Spencer Jesse [McKeown] and a few other EPs, just to get the hang of it. After that conversation, I thought it sounded really fresh and nuanced and organic.

– Heaton: There seemed to be so much warmth and mystery. I remember talking to my agent because obviously I was coming from “Stranger Things” and I was like, “Is it too similar?” I was a little worried. But Wade is a very fun character. I’m from a working class fishing town [Bridlington, England]. He is also working class. Everyone knows someone like Wade.

Hartnett: Willow Kean, who plays my sister’s aunt, saw Charlie on set when he first arrived. The guy was smoking in his own clothes and she said: “I think there’s someone on set who shouldn’t be.” Because he looked like a native. He immediately fully embodied the mood of this character.

How did you two meet? Have you crossed paths in the industry before?

Hartnett: We didn’t. We met on Zoom. We did a lot of stuff with the whole cast, and more than anything, it was about learning the accent. When we started accent work together, it was great to just shoot the s online.

– Heaton: We wanted the family to sound like they were all from the same place. However, it is very difficult to hear the accent in the beginning. So we were all getting it wrong.

Heaton and Hartnett didn’t cross paths before starring on “Below,” but they bonded by trying to learn the show’s Newfoundland accent together.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

What was the biggest hurdle with the Newfoundland accent?

– Heaton: I’ve done quite a few accents, but it’s hard to understand the rules of it. It’s like this word is Irish, this word is kind of American. It took me a while to hear this. We had Ali. [Alison Kelly]He was our voice coach and most of the extras on set were local artists, so you could really trust them.

Hartnett: Everyone was very welcoming. The hardest part for me was hearing the rhythm. I also listened to what was said:BroadcastingIt was formerly called the “Fishing Broadcast”. This is a radio program that has been running since 1951. Every day they’re talking to someone about something that’s going on on the island, so you get all these different versions of the accent, but you also get a general perspective of how people talk in Newfoundland. It was really very descriptive.

How familiar were you with Newfoundland before making “Below”?

Hartnett: I knew very little. I knew the “Come From Afar” story about all the people trapped in Gander after 9/11. I knew long ago that this was where Leif Erikson landed. I knew it was the closest place to Europe in North America, so until recently people would stop in Newfoundland when taking transatlantic flights. I knew there were seagulls.

– Heaton: I’ll be very honest. I’ve never even heard of this. But I learned a lot. We’ve been there a long time and Newfoundlanders are extremely proud of their history and culture and love to talk.

What was it like shooting outdoors and in nature?

– Heaton: She was strong and beautiful. The place we shot was a bay called Snook’s Arm, South Brigus. You’d come down in the morning and I found it really impressive how much nature there was every day.

Hartnett: The first days we were there, they took me on a whale watching tour. “Oh, great. Sounds touristy but fun.” It was a spiritual experience. I have never been anywhere where I felt so small and insignificant next to another animal. These humpback whales are right under these tiny boats and they can wag their tails if they want and you’re out to sea. I have never experienced nature at sea like I did there.

You are in the role of father and son, but there is not that much difference in your ages.

Hartnett: Fifteen and a half years! I did the math.

Heaton and Hartnett play father and son in “Below,” but they are actually 16 years apart in age. (Netflix)

How did you improve your screen dynamics?

Hartnett: Charlie had a character like Wade; It was so easy to feel a real sense of protection and an incredible amount of love.

– Heaton: What I really admire about working with Josh is [is] he is such a leader. You really care and are so generous to everyone, I had the opportunity to see your family and what kind of father you are. So frankly, it wasn’t that difficult to create these predictions in my mind. It’s great that I’m your son.

Hartnett: Very sweet friend. Thank you.

Charlie, do you remember any of Josh’s past work that caught your attention?

Hartnett: [Pretends to cover his camera] I will close this.

– Heaton: One of my favorite movies in a while “Lucky Number SlevIN.” I used to watch this a lot when I was little. I could watch this again, Josh. It’s been a while.

Hartnett: Well, tell me if it works.

Josh, were you familiar with Charlie’s work?

Hartnett: I was a big fan of “Stranger Things” and saw “Industry.” Then when he came on the first Zoom as Wade and he was already solid as a character, I was like, “He’s a star, man. This guy’s a star.”

Charlie Heaton as Jonathan Byers in “Stranger Things.” Hartnett says he’s a fan of his work.

(Netflix)

You both found fame in your early 20s, but at very different points in the industry. “Oh, people know who I am off-screen and something has changed?” What are your memories when you first noticed the question?

– Heaton: I remember that moment exactly. I was shooting a movie in a small town in Asturias, northern Spain. “Stranger Things” has only been on the market for a few days. I was in this small town and a family approached me who could barely speak English, but they recognized me. Then I walked a little further down the street and another boy came running up to me.

The show blew up overnight and before you know it, you’re off to the Emmys and BAFTAs with all these people you admire. I think we’ve all felt the imposter syndrome. Like, what am I doing on the carpet with Bryan Cranston and Helen Mirren? If I think back on it now, it’s so overwhelming. I really don’t know how this has changed so quickly and how you’re expected to know how to deal with it.

Hartnett: It was a long time ago for me. Of course, there was no social media, but we had a pretty intense paparazzi problem. So, the initial success of movies like “Faculty,” “Halloween: H20” and “The Virgin Suicides” was good in the sense that people knew who I was and I was able to get more work, but there was no passion for paparazzi waiting outside the hotel.

That changed when “Pearl Harbor” came out. I was in Morocco shooting “Black Hawk Down” and had to come back to print “Pearl Harbor.” Suddenly I couldn’t go anywhere. It was a strange encounter because I was 22 years old and not ready for this. Immediately after finishing “Black Hawk Down,” I decided to return to Minnesota, where I grew up… There are no paparazzi in Minnesota. I stayed there for about two years.

– Heaton: These seismic changes are a very strange thing to experience. I always thought that I hadn’t changed, but everyone around me had, and it’s a weird thing to get used to. But great opportunities and wonderful things come from this.

Hartnett: One hundred percent. My life is probably a lot better right now than it would have been if all of this hadn’t happened.

Josh, you in question that you felt like celebrity culture was “empty” and didn’t want to do things like “Cribs” or “Punk’d.” As a teenage heartthrob, have you ever felt like you were forced to fit a certain mold?

Hartnett: This stuff wasn’t for me. As a young celebrity you will always be pushed to the brink of insanity, things that people will look back on and cringe at not too far into the future. I was lucky enough to avoid that side.

In our business, it’s about surviving your 20s to get to a place where you earn the respect of the people you work with on set and gives you the leeway to create characters the way you want.

Charlie, how are you approaching your career post-Stranger Things?

– Heaton: After completing the last season, I wanted to make “Industry”, which seemed extremely different to me. I have to use my own accent. This is a much more adult show than I’ve ever been to. And it was important to portray a man. I’ve always been playing a 21-year-old for about 10 years. I keep getting older. [Jonathan] remains the same. He moves further away from me. But I just want to do things that I hope will allow me to show range.