Josh Hartnett doesn’t think he’s in his villain era.
No matter which Colleen Hoover fan you ask, the character of Jeremy in the novel Verity, whom the Trap star will play in the upcoming adaptation alongside Dakota Johnson and Anne Hathaway, is at the very least, polarizing. But he recently explained why he thinks his character shouldn’t be labeled as the bad guy.
“It’s kind of a perspective thing,” Josh explained in an exclusive E! News interview at the May 6 premiereof his new movie Fight or Flight, which hits theaters May 9. “You could go either way with it. I think it depends on who you listen to.”
Still, the 46-year-old teased he has special intel from the author herself, adding, “If you listen to Colleen, it’s not.” (For more from Josh and the Fight or Flight cast, tune into E! News tonight, May 7, at 11 p.m.)
And while fans will have to wait until next May to see what Josh is alluding to, the Pearl Harbor actor—who shares four children with his wife Tamsin Egerton—“loved” working on the film, which follows It Ends With Us, and the upcoming October release Regretting You, as the third of Colleen’s novels to be adapted.
“We had a really fantastic time,” Josh gushed of filming, noting he signed on to the project because of Anne’s involvement. “Annie and I talked about working together before and when this came along—she’s producing it—and they sent it to me, I was like, ‘Yeah of course, I really want to work with you.’”
As for Dakota—who plays another one of Josh’s love interests in the film—he added, “She’s fantastic.”
Verity fans will have plenty of time to argue where Josh’s character falls on the scale of good and bad until it hits theaters, but for now he’s sure the next character that hits the big screen—mercenary Lucas Reyes in Fight or Flight—will be one audiences love.
“I’ve always tried to do interesting roles that people are going to want to go see in theaters,” the Penny Dreadful alumexplained. “This one and the other couple that I’ve been doing recently seem to be right in the zeitgeist. People seem to really want to see them. It’s been exciting for me.”
Of course, no matter where his character’s true intentions lie, people can’t wait to see Josh in Verity, either. Keep reading for everything to know about the film…
—Reporting by Emily Curl
What Is Verity About?
Verity is based on Colleen Hoover‘s best-selling novel of the same name.
In the 2018 romantic thriller, struggling writer Lowen Ashleigh is hired by Jeremy Crawford to finish the popular book series created by his famous author wife Verity Crawford after an accident leaves Verity unable to finish the project.
Lowen moves into the Crawfords’ home and begins going through Verity’s trove of notes on the books. But during this process, she finds Verity’s unfinished autobiography containing shocking confessions. After initially deciding not to reveal the manuscript to Jeremy, Lowen has second thoughts once she forms feelings for him.
So far, it looks like the movie stays pretty close to the book.
“Upon arrival at the lavish Crawford estate, Lowen slowly learns that things are not exactly as they seem with the discovery of a secret, unfinished manuscript that may divulge chilling admissions about the family’s past,” the movie’s logline, obtained by Variety, reads. “As Lowen ingratiates herself with Jeremy and his young son Crew, she must discern if Verity’s writings are merely lurid works of fiction or an ominous warning by a deranged psychopath.”
Anne Hathaway Is Playing Verity Crawford
Is Anne Hathaway really starring in Verity? If Miranda Priestly were here, she’d tell you to please bore someone else with your questions.
But it’s true! In November 2024, Amazon MGM Studios confirmed The Devil Wears Prada star is playing the titular character in Verity.
While Anne has yet to comment on the casting herself, she was spotted on the movie’s set in February 2025. And Colleen has made it clear she’s thrilled to have the Oscar winner—who is also a producer for the film—on board.
“Verity is coming to theaters and I am so excited for this cast and the script and the director and the whole team bringing this to life,” the author wrote on Facebook in November. “Cannot wait. More coming soon!”
Dakota Johnson Is Portraying Lowen Ashleigh
More news did come soon, and fans were fifty shades of tickled pink to find out in December 2024 that Dakota Johnson was joining the cast as Lowen Ashleigh.
Like Anne, Dakota is also a producer on the film. In fact, the actress has a book club inspired by her pursuit for quality content for her production company TeaTime Pictures.
“There are a lot of people who do things like I do and they have book clubs, and I was always like, Oh, the way that I read books, it’s so different,” she told Bustle in March 2024. “I want to fall down the rabbit hole every time I read… to invest in the book, invest in the language, invest in the references.”
Josh Hartnett Is Cast as Jeremy Crawford
At the same time as Dakota’s cast announcement, producers revealed that Josh Hartnett would be taking on the role of Jeremy Crawford.
Like his costars, the Black Hawk Down actor has stayed tight-lipped on Verity. However, he was seen filming with Anne in February.
After the three main stars were revealed, Colleen shared how she felt about the cast, noting in a December Instagram post “excited is an understatement.”
Michael Showalter Is Directing
Michael Showalter is back in the director’s chair.
According to Variety, the filmmaker is directing Verity andserving as a producer alongside Anne, Colleen, Dakota and others.
Michael and Anne have worked together before, including on the 2024 film adaptation of The Idea of You.
As for the writer, Variety noted the current Verity script is penned by NickAntosca—who’s worked on TV shows like Candy and The Act—with previous versions written by Colleen and Lauren Levine, Hillary Seitz, Angela LaManna, as well as Will Honley and April Maguire.
Filming Has Finished
Lights, camera, action!
Josh and Anne were photographed filming Verity in Queens, New York in February 2025. For one scene, ThePrincess Diaries alum wore a high-neck, semi-sheer white dress that she accessorized with a matching belt, sunglasses and leopard-print heels.
As for the Black Mirror alum, he donned a gray shirt underneath a navy suit along with a brown belt and coordinating shoes.
Anne and Josh were also seen working on a scene in which they’re smiling and running as he’s sporting a white button-down shirt, black pants and a bow-tie and she’s holding his suit jacket (see the pic here).
In April 2025, Anne confirmed that filming finished.
The movie is slated to hit theaters Oct. 2, 2026.
