Justin Hartley has been winning over the hearts of television watchers for decades now. While fans of the actor all have their favorite roles — mine happens to be his work as Kevin Pearson in NBC’s Thursday night hit series This Is Us — Hartley also has one moment in his career that he feels most proud of, and it perhaps shockingly has nothing to do with his iconic Green Arrow suit he wore on the DC super-drama Smallville.
Hartley shared a list of details with Us Weekly that even his biggest fans don’t know about him. In the middle of those factoids, the Tracker star shared what he feels is the proudest moment of his career, and it just so happens to tie directly to the CBS drama that returned to the 2025 TV schedule in February.
The proudest moment of my career is building Tracker from the ground up with [director] Ken Olin and having people believe in us enough to give us money to shoot it. Seeing the response from the people that watch it, that love it, that’s it. You never think you’re gonna be able to do something like that, but it’s been remarkable.
The action drama series is adapted for the screen from the 2019 novel The Never Game, and follows Colter Shaw (Hartley), an experienced survivalist who helps law enforcement and private citizens locate missing people and solve crimes. The first season was met with strong viewership, scoring the broadcast drama an early Season 2 renewal, and as of February 2025, it was picked up for a third season.
Hartley pulls double duty on the show, playing the lead role and also serving as one of the top executive producers alongside showrunner Ken Olin. It marks the first time the This Is Us star has produced television since getting his acting start in the early aughts.
It’s no surprise, then, that Hartley’s first foray into television producing ranks leagues above his days wearing the Green Arrow suit in Smallville. Though, I’m sure fans of the superhero drama would disagree. But don’t worry, Hartley did love his time playing the superhero.
In fact, the Tracker star said in the same interview that he’d love to play a superhero again, maybe even an older version of Green Arrow. If DC doesn’t take him up on the offer, I’m sure the ever-expanding MCU would be glad to welcome the Daytime Emmy nominee. Hopefully, we won’t be waiting long to see him in an upcoming superhero movie.
For now, Hartley is kept busy with Tracker’s grueling schedule that has the entire team filming one high-action episode every week. Something even he thinks shouldn’t be possible but is clearly working for the show that managed to grow its ratings at the end of 2024, unlike many other CBS shows.
You can catch new episodes of Tracker every Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The series is also available to stream with an active Paramount+ subscription.
