Josh Hartnett regrets saying no to the ''wrong people''.

The 36-year-old actor has admitted he regrets not accepting the chance to star as Batman in the Christopher Nolan-directed reboot of the series, and thinks the decision led to him being overlooked for other coveted roles.

He confessed: ''I've definitely said no to some of the wrong people. I said no because I was tired and wanted to spend more time with my friends and family. That's frowned upon in this industry.

''People don't like being told no. I don't like it. I learned my lesson when Christopher Nolan and I talked about Batman. I decided it wasn't for me.''

Josh thinks the decision caused him to miss out on a role in the 2006 film 'The Prestige', which starred Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman and his ex-girlfriend Scarlett Johansson.

He told Playboy magazine: ''[Nolan] didn't want to put me in The Prestige. They not only hired their Batman for it, they also hired my girlfriend [Scarlett Johansson] at the time.''

Meanwhile, the star recently confessed some of his famous ex-girlfriends were ''mistakes''.

Josh - who's dated the likes of Kirsten Dunst, Amanda Seyfried and Scarlett Johansson, and is currently dating British actress Tamsin Egerton - shared: ''I think it's a respectable way of going about it. I've met very important people in my life doing films. Sometimes that had consequences that were just awful for everybody involved. Some were fantastic all the way through. Everybody makes mistakes dating people they work with.''