Josh Hartnett Jumps to CAA (Exclusive)

Josh Hartnett Vianney Le Caer/Dave Benett/Getty Images for Hermes GB

In another defection at the Verve agency, Josh Hartnett is leaving the fold and jumping to the majors. The actor is exiting to sign with Creative Artists Agency, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The actor known for 2000s hits like Pearl Harbor and Black Hawk Down had gone through a couple of bumpy stretches but had been seeing a career upswing since moving to Verve in 2022. He booked a feature role in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, a guest run in FX’s The Bear, plus a starring turn in M. Night Shyamalan thriller Trap and an upcoming role in Colleen Hoover adaptation Verity. He will also be seen battling a sea monster in Netflix’s miniseries Below and recently wrapped production on Oliver Stone’s White Lies, starring opposite Michael Douglas and Willem Dafoe.

Harnett had been repped by CAA during his feature run before exiting in 2012, per reports at the time, ahead of his turn two years later as a series regular in Showtime series Penny Dreadful, which ran for three seasons.

The client exit is at least the second major one in a single week to be reported publicly, as Verve lost The Pitt star Noah Wyle, who has seen his own career resurgence since the HBO Max show became a defining hit for the platform. Wyle, however, didn’t exit for another agency and is still repped by Brillstein and law firm Jackoway Austen.

Verve, founded in 2010 by a trio of agents who left WME, still has co-founding partners Bryan Besser and Adam Levine at the firm. But since the dual strikes in 2023 and co-founder Bill Weinstein’s fiery exit a year later, the smaller Los Angeles-based firm has been navigating choppy waters in the representation space.

In recent weeks, Verve inked clients including In Living Color co-creator Damon Wayons, Off Campus exec producer Leanna Billings, actor Scott Eastwood as well as Tom Forman, Chad Gutstein, and David Metzler’s TV banner Terminal B.

Hartnett continues to be repped by Entertainment 360 and Sloan, Offer.