The process in which a relatively unspecialized cell acquires the specialized features of a hepatocyte. A hepatocyte is specialized epithelial cell that is organized into interconnected plates called lobules, and is the main structural component of the liver. [ http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7588884 http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/CL_0000182 ]