Josh Hartnett reveals people in his industry that he modelled ‘psychopath’ character on

Josh Hartnett has shared who he drew inspiration from for his new serial killer character.

Hartnett plays the lead of Cooper Adams in M. Night Shyamalan's new release, Trap. The director is best known for films like Split, The Sixth Sense, Signs and The Visit.

The movie hit cinemas in the US on Friday (August 2) and will follow suit in the UK on August 9.

Hartnett's character Cooper is a serial killer and he takes his daughter - played by Ariel Donoghue - to a concert.

However Cooper goes on to find out that there's an FBI sting operation underway at the stadium, with the police hoping to capture a serial killer known as 'The Butcher' - Cooper himself.

Trap is loosely based on a similar sting operation conducted by the United States Marshals Service and the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC in December 1985 where over 100 wanted criminals ended up being arrested.

Josh Hartnett stars as the lead character in Trap. (Gerald Matzka/Getty Images)

With the sinister nature of his movie character in mind, Hartnett shared that how he go into Cooper's mindset was by thinking about people he's met in real life.

"There are a lot of CEOs, politicians, people in our business… a lot of people who are at the top," he shared to Entertainment Weekly.

"They don't mind stepping over people or doing horrible things to get where they're going, and not having any empathy is a pretty big sign of being a psychopath.

"Whether or not you're murdering people, I've met people like this, you know what I mean? So it was easy to take it all a step further, make it a little bolder, and make his cover so intense."

In light of Trap's recent release in the US, reviews for the film have begun rolling in.

At the time of writing it has a 64 percent audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Trap has had mixed reviews so far. (Warner Bros. Pictures)

One reviewer wrote on the site about the movie: "Edge of my seat the entire time. Really enjoyed this one, it was so different! Actors nailed it!"

A second person raved: "Superb performances from the cast. The story kept my attention throughout. Not as many twists and surprises that you might expect from an M. Night Shyamalan flick but a solid story with decent character development. I was not disappointed!"

Others weren't as positive, however.

One Trap critic said: "Predictable & a little on the cheesy side. Had potential to be good but just wasn't. Disappointed."

"We solved the movie [in] the first 25 minutes," insisted another.

I think it's safe to say that Trap's had quite the mixed reception so far...