ICM's Bartlett boosts young talent

Agent's roster includes rising star Zoe Saldana

By JILL GOLDSMITH

When you represent a throng of young up-and-coming actors, you never know when things will snap, crackle and pop all at once. But they do. Ask ICM's Lorrie Bartlett, whose clients have been parading through the hottest pics of summer.

Zoe Saldana heated up the newest "Star Trek" and will appear in December in James Cameron's "Avatar." Josh Duhamel and Megan Fox, both of whom Bartlett shares with fellow agent Chuck James, rocked the box office with "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." It's no surprise, then, that Bartlett has a reputation for pairing her talent with A-list directors and major films.

"It's been satisfying and fun to watch someone you have had a great deal of belief in be in two tentpole movies," she says of Saldana. "She's had a banner year."

Saldana next stars in Sony's remake of "Death at a Funeral" and Warner Bros. action pic "The Losers." Duhamel next is starring opposite Katherine Heigl in "Life as We Know It" and follows with "The Romantics" opposite Katie Holmes and Anna Paquin. His Disney romantic comedy "When in Rome" opens in January.

Bartlett and James, who have worked closely together for years, joined ICM from Gersh in October, carrying with them a robust roster that also includes Fox, Elisha Cuthbert, Mena Suvari, Kelly Macdonald, Dennis Haysbert, Jordana Spiro, Regina King and Rodrigo Santoro. Since the move, Bartlett's been instrumental in signing Golden Globe winner Sally Hawkins, Paul Wesley, Emmy Rossum, Jacinda Barrett and Linda Cardellini.

Bartlett credits ICM's infrastructure "that can support the goals and aspirations of clients" -- whether they want to act, produce, direct or raise money for their own projects -- as "imperative at this point in the business."

As for whether to sign, or not to sign, when someone's a relative unknown: "I think it's really about trusting your instincts and identifying someone with whom you connect and that you think others will connect with," she says. "God knows, if we could bottle 'it' and say we know what 'it' is, we'd all be extremely successful."

IN A NUTSHELL

Job title: Senior motion picture talent agent, ICM

Inspiration: "My grandmother, Mary L. Carr. I would not be the person I am without her. She made me believe I could do anything I wanted."

Career mantra: "Everything is possible."

Leisure pursuit: "Going to hear live music."

Philanthropic passion: Women's Care Cottage, which provides long-term service to move women and children off the streets.