Share and Follow
When actor Glen Powell learned that director Edgar Wright was about to watch his 2023 film “Hit Man,” he sent Wright a text message jokingly saying, “Consider this my audition tape” (via The Wrap). The film captured Wright’s interest, making him keen to cast Powell as the protagonist, Ben Richards, in his upcoming project, “The Running Man.” However, there was a catch: Stephen King, the author of the original book, needed to approve Powell for the role. To secure King’s blessing, Wright decided to show him “Hit Man,” the film that had initially impressed him.
Olivia Wong/Getty Images
Despite Powell’s burgeoning Hollywood career, Stephen King had yet to see him in a leading role. Powell had already featured in films like “Anyone But You” and “Twisters,” but it was “Hit Man” that truly showcased his acting prowess and range.
Powell recalled that after being offered the part in “The Running Man,” Wright mentioned, “Dude, I forgot to tell you, Stephen King has to approve of you.” Powell humorously shared that he brought over a bottle of champagne to Wright’s place, anxiously awaiting King’s verdict. Fortunately, King gave his approval and has been supportive ever since.
Despite its misleading title, “Hit Man” is not about a professional assassin. Instead, it follows the story of Gary Johnson, an introverted psychology professor played by Powell, who works with the New Orleans police department. His role involves posing as a hitman, a task he excels at unexpectedly. This leads to his involvement in numerous sting operations and multiple arrests, until he encounters Madison (played by Adria Arjona), who wants him to kill her husband.
Receiving an A+ review from Looper, the film is loosely inspired by the true story of a real-life Gary Johnson, a professor who posed as a hitman for police during the 1980s and ’90s. Powell, along with his co-writer and director Richard Linklater, took creative liberties, adding a memorable twist by having Powell’s character don various disguises as a faux assassin.
What is Hit Man about?
Netflix
Contrary to its title,”Hit Man” is not about a hitman. It’s about an introverted psychology professor, Gary Johnson, played by Glen Powell, who freelances for the New Orleans police department. It’s a job that eventually has him posing as a hired killer, something the department finds Gary is surprisingly good at. All of a sudden, Gary is moonlighting in a bunch of sting operations and racking up arrests. That is, until a woman named Madison (Adria Arjona) asks Gary to kill her husband.
The movie — which got an A+ review from Looper — is loosely based on the story of the real Gary Johnson, a professor who posed as a hitman for the police in the 1980s and ’90s. However, it was Powell who suggested that he and his co-writer and director, Richard Linklater, could go outside the facts and, in perhaps the most memorable part of the film, put Powell’s character in all types of disguises as a fake assassin.
Wright clearly adored what Linklater and Powell did with the film, and “Hit Man” convinced King to approve of Powell for “The Running Man.” And even though “The Running Man” appears to be a box office failure, Powell is likely still thrilled to be a part of it because, according to him, Wright is “one of the great filmmakers.”