Josh Hartnett had to 'start from scratch' with accent for Below

Josh Hartnett initially didn't know "how to place" the Newfoundland accent he needed to master for the miniseries, Below.

In the Netflix thriller series, the Minnesota-born actor plays a fisherman in a remote Newfoundland town who is terrorised by a mysterious sea creature.

Reflecting on the accent work he did prior to production, Hartnett admitted that he had to "start from scratch".

"When I first heard the accent, it felt like I didn't know how to place it. It was like a little bit Irish, it was a little bit Canadian, it was a little bit middle-American... and also just a little bit sort of Cornwall," he explained to The Hollywood Reporter. "But none of those things came out in the wash when you started to investigate them. You had to kind of start from scratch."

However, the Pearl Harbor star went on to note that locals on set were very helpful.

"We had this great group of people that were working on the set that were there to call us out when we were going south or going in the wrong direction - going too Irish or whatever," the 48-year-old remembered. "And it just kind of all worked out. I knew when we started, as we all did, (the accent) is going to be jarring to the public when they first hear it."

Hartnett hinted that he is open to reprising his character for another season.

"We have not had any talks about a second season. Other people will talk about that and then talk to me about it if that were to be the case, but I haven't heard anything about it yet. We're just super happy with the results," he added.

Below, also starring Mackenzie Davis and Charlie Heaton, premiered on Netflix on 8 October.