The Verity Movie Cast Just Added Dakota Johnson & Josh Harnett as [Spoiler] in Anne Hathaway’s New Colleen Hoover Adaptation

Confirmed: Dakota Johnson – Lowen Ashleigh

Dakota Johnson was announced as Lowen Ashleigh, the protagonist of Verity. She’s a struggling author in her mid-thirties who is hired by Verity’s husband, Jeremy, to finish the remaining books in Verity’s successful thriller series now that Verity is paralyzed and can no longer complete them herself. Lowen, who decides to use the pen name Laura Chase for the project, moves into Verity and Jeremy’s Vermont estate where she learns that not everything is as it seems with the famous Verity Crawford.

Confirmed: Anne Hathaway — Verity

Deadline reported that Anne Hathaway is set to star as Verity in the 2025 film. Verity Crawford is the titular character of Verity and the wife of Jeremy Crawford, with whom she shares a son, Crew, and late twin daughters, Harper and Chasin. She’s a successful thriller author, who, due to a mysterious accident, is left in a semi-comatose state. She’s described, slender, blue-eyed and beautiful, as well as manipulative, clever, and self-serving

Confirmed: Josh Hartnett — Jeremy Crawford

Josh Hartnett was cast as Jeremy Crawford, per Deadline. Jeremy Crawford is Verity’s husband and Lowen’s love interest. He’s described as a compassion man, who’s devoted to Verity, even though their marriage is revealed to be unhappy.

Fan Cast: Verity Crawford – Rosamund Pike

While fans have thrown around many actresses to play Verity—including Blake Lively, who stars as the lead in Colleen Hoover’s It Ends With Us movie adaptation—no one fits the role more than Rosamund Pike. Pike has played a cunning wife in a book adaptation before—2014’s Gone Girl, which she earned an Oscar nomination for—and she’s continued those eerie performances in films like 2023’s Saltburn, making her the perfect fit for Verity. Take a look below for our fan casts for other characters.

Fan Cast: Jeremy Crawford – Jamie Dornan

A lot of leading men have been thrown around by fans for Jeremy, including Henry Cavill, Chris Evans, and Theo James (more on him later), but our choice for Jeremy has to be Jamie Dornan. Dornan is used to romance book adaptations. He played Christian Grey in three Fifty Shades of Grey movies, so he has the experience to portray the sexy, romantic lead of a Colleen Hoover film adaptation. Dornan also showed off his investigation skills in the mystery series The Tourist, making him a great choice to play the husband of a thriller author who isn’t what she seems.

Fan Cast: Lowen Ashleigh – Victoria Pedretti

Popular fan casting choices for Lowen include Dakota Johnson and Alexandra Daddario, however, our pick for Verity’s protagonist is You and The Haunting of Bly Manor alum Victoria Pedretti.

For one Pedretti has already played a character who moves into a creepy house before in 2020’s The Haunting of Bly Manor, in which she plays an au pair to a little boy and girl who lose their parents. (Which is not much different to Lowen taking care of Jeremy and Verity’s son, Crew.) Pedretti also showed her “killer” instincts in Seasons 2 and 3 of You, so she has what it takes to investigate the truth behind Verity’s mysterious accident.

Corey – Theo James

Corey is Lowen’s literary agent whom she was once in a relationship. Unlike Jeremy, Corey is selfish and sees Lowen as his meal ticket, putting his interests ahead of hers. While Theo James is often named as a casting idea for Jeremy, we think he’s a better fit for Corey based on his past, impeccable portrayal of a self-absorbed boyfriend in Season 2 of The White Lotus.

April – Rosario Dawson

April is a nurse who works for Verity. She doesn’t approve of Lowen living Jeremy and Verity’s house and makes that clear to her when she hears her speaking about Verity in the third person while she’s in the room. Our pick for April is Rosario Dawson, who has experience playing no-nonsense characters who have no trouble putting people they don’t like in their place.

Myrna – Olivia Coleman

Compared to April, Myrna is a friendly nurse who works at Verity and Jeremy’s house on the weekends. She’s describdd as a “little older than April,” and “round and cheerful with two rosy spots on her cheeks that make her look like an old-fashioned Kewpie doll.” While it’s unclear if Olivia Coleman fits that description completely, she is an actress who exudes the cheeriness and welcomeness that makes Myrna the polar opposite of April.

Patricia – January Jones

Patricia is Verity’s friend whom Jeremy and Lowen run into on a shopping trip at Target. Patricia is described as blonde with a keen love of gossip. Our choice to play her would be January Jones, who has the experience of portraying icy characters like Betty Draper in the TV series Mad Men and Emma Frost in X-Men: First Class.

Caroline – Bryce Dallas Howard

Caroline is another of Verity’s friends who is with Patricia when Jeremy and Lowen run into them at Target. Like Patricia, Caroline is also suspicious of Jeremy and Lowen’s relationship. Our choice to play Caroline is Bryce Dallas Howard, who played a highly unlikable town gossip in 2011’s The Help.

Amanda Thomas – Selma Blair

Amanda Thomas is an editor at Pantem Press, where Verity was an author with. Amanda is described as a no-nonsense woman with short black hair and “lipstick so red, it’s a little jarring.” There’s no one better to play her than Selma Blair, who became iconic for her black pixie in the ’90s and ’00s and has a history of playing stern characters like Vivian in 2001′ Legally Blonde.

Barron Stephens – John Goodman 

Barron Stephens is a lawyer at Pantem Press, whom Lowen also gave the nickname “Goddamit Barron” to based on Amanda’s outbursts toward him. He’s described as an older man who “almost comically” follows Amanda’s lead. Our choice to play him is John Goodman, who has the comedic chops from shows like Roseanne and The Conners to bring Barron’s aloofness to life.

Natalie – Alexandra Shipp

Natalie is an old friend of Lowen’s whom she texts and keeps in contact with throughout her time living at Verity and Jeremy’s house. While Natalie isn’t seen in the novel, we think an actress like Alexandra Shipp could give her more depth as one of the only people from Lowen’s personal life in Verity.