Josh Hartnett’s performance in Netflix’s Below is making a strong case for a new career high—but “best of his career” remains an opinion, not a settled critics’ verdict. The six-part Newfoundland-set thriller gives Hartnett a demanding role as Calvin Penney, a fisherman trying to protect his family and a close-knit community while an unexplained sea creature threatens the town. What makes the performance stand out is not simply the scale of the danger. It is the quieter work: fatigue, grief, stubborn pride, and the feeling of a man who has spent years carrying more than he can explain.
Netflix describes Below as a story about a fisherman fighting for his family, community, and vanishing way of life. That setup gives Hartnett more to play than a conventional monster-horror lead. Calvin is not an action hero who arrives with every answer. He is a working man whose instincts, mistakes, and loyalties shape how the town responds to a crisis. Netflix Tudum’s series guide confirms the six-episode format and the central role of Calvin’s family and community.
Why Calvin Penney may be one of Hartnett’s most layered roles
Hartnett’s strongest work often comes when a character’s confidence and vulnerability exist at the same time. In Below, Calvin has to make decisions in public while wrestling with old wounds in private. He can be blunt, defensive, and difficult, but the series keeps returning to the reason behind that hardness: he believes the people around him are depending on him, even when he is not sure he can save them.
That tension is useful in a story where the threat is initially difficult to understand. A creature feature can make its lead character little more than a person running from danger. Below instead places Calvin inside a web of family history, local politics, economic pressure, and community loyalty. The sea creature drives the suspense, but Hartnett’s performance gives the danger a human scale. The question is not only whether Calvin can survive; it is whether he can keep his family and town from coming apart.
What critics are responding to—and where opinions differ
Early coverage of Below has highlighted the show’s unusual mix of coastal horror, family drama, local humor, and environmental unease. Reuters reported that the cast credited Newfoundland’s community and setting with helping give the series its character, while Hartnett has described the location as a major part of what attracted him to the project. That context matters: Calvin’s performance is rooted in a particular place, not in a generic small-town backdrop. Read Reuters’ report on the cast and Newfoundland setting.
Not every review treats the series as a career-defining triumph. The Guardian’s review praises the show’s strange, pulpy atmosphere while arguing that its environmental ideas can be overshadowed by its grotesque creature-horror elements. That mixed response is an important counterweight to sweeping claims about a unanimous critical consensus. A performance can be compelling even when a reviewer has reservations about the story around it. Read The Guardian’s review.
For a fair reading of the critical response, it is worth separating three claims: that Hartnett is effective in the role, that Below is an ambitious showcase for him, and that this is definitively his best performance. The first two can be argued from the character’s emotional range and the attention the series gives him. The third is inevitably subjective. Critics and viewers will weigh different performances, genres, and stages of an actor’s career differently.
The performance is strongest when the spectacle gets quiet
The series’ premise promises a large-scale threat, but Calvin’s most revealing moments are the smaller ones: conversations that do not resolve neatly, family tensions that survive a crisis, and decisions made without enough information. Hartnett has to convey a man who rarely explains himself fully. That restraint can make the character feel lived-in, particularly when his protectiveness becomes a flaw as well as a virtue.
The Newfoundland setting also changes the rhythm of the performance. The landscape is open, but the community is close-knit; people know one another’s history, and private problems quickly become public concerns. Calvin cannot simply leave his past behind or reinvent himself somewhere else. The town’s economic uncertainty and its struggle to preserve a way of life give his personal conflict a broader context.
How Below fits into Hartnett’s career
Hartnett has worked across studio films, independent projects, thrillers, and character-driven dramas. It is more useful to see Below as another meaningful stage in that varied career than to declare it the winner before a longer critical conversation develops. The role lets him combine physical presence with uncertainty, and it places him at the center of a story that shifts between horror, humor, and family conflict.
Readers following Hartnett’s recent work can also explore our related coverage: why Hartnett has described Below as an important role and how the series fits into his career resurgence. Those pieces address the broader career context; this article focuses on what makes Calvin such a demanding part.
Watch the official Below teaser
The official Netflix teaser gives a quick sense of the show’s combination of maritime atmosphere and escalating danger. It is useful context for understanding the world Hartnett’s character inhabits, although a trailer alone cannot establish whether a performance is an actor’s best.
Is Josh Hartnett’s Below performance his best ever?
The most defensible answer is that it may be one of his most memorable recent performances, but there is no objective way to settle a “best ever” ranking. Below gives Hartnett a character with emotional contradictions, family responsibilities, and a strong connection to place. Those ingredients create a persuasive showcase for his strengths. Still, critical reactions to the series are not uniformly ecstatic, and a handful of reviews cannot prove that critics as a whole have ranked it above every earlier role.
What can be said with confidence is that Calvin Penney gives Hartnett substantial material to work with. The performance is not built only around the creature or the show’s shocks; it depends on the quieter burden of trying to keep a family and a community intact. For viewers who value character work inside genre storytelling, that may be enough to put Below near the top of Hartnett’s recent work.
Frequently asked questions
What character does Josh Hartnett play in Below?
Hartnett plays Calvin Penney, a Newfoundland fisherman who tries to protect his family and community when a mysterious sea creature threatens the town.
Is Below Josh Hartnett’s best performance?
That is a matter of opinion. The role showcases his ability to combine toughness, grief, and vulnerability, but there is no universal critical ranking that proves it is his best performance.
What are critics saying about Below?
Coverage has noted the series’ distinctive Newfoundland setting, blend of horror and family drama, and unusual tone. Reviews differ on how successfully the show balances its environmental themes with its creature-feature elements.
How many episodes does Below have?
Netflix lists Below as a six-episode limited series.
Where can viewers watch Below?
Below is available on Netflix. Check the official Netflix title page for availability in your region.
Sources: Netflix Tudum; Reuters; The Guardian review; Netflix official teaser on YouTube.
By Shivam Das
