Stephen King approved Glen Powell's casting in The Running Man
Glen Powell needed his Running Man casting to be approved by Stephen King.
Glen Powell's casting in The Running Man needed to be approved by Stephen King.
The 36-year-old actor leads the new dystopian action thriller film, which is based on the 1982 novel by King - but Glenn needed the approval of the acclaimed author before filming could begin.
Speaking at a New York Comic Con panel, Glen told People: "Edgar [Wright, the director] offered me this movie, and I was like, ‘Yes.’ I’m like, ‘Let’s go…’ And then, like, later that night [Edgar says], ‘By the way, like, you have to be approved by Stephen King. He’s gonna watch Hit Man tonight.'
"And so I had to wait overnight for Stephen King to watch Hit Man and hope that I still had the role in the morning. It’s terrible."
Edgar also revealed that the best-selling author is a huge fan of the new film.
He said: "Stephen King read the screenplay before we started filming, and you know, Stephen King, he’s like the most famous English teacher in history … I was like, ‘This is so nerve-wracking to have to hand in our homework to [him]. But he loved the screenplay, and so it was great."
Glen has enjoyed huge success in recent years, starring in movies such as Anyone but You, Hitman and Twisters. And the actor previously explained how Tom Cruise, his Top Gun: Maverick co-star, has been a "great mentor" for him.
The Hollywood star told Extra: "He's the best kind of friend you could ask for, just a real cheerleader and just a real great mentor and friend, and he loves when other people are winning, especially when he knows what it takes to make that kind of movie.
"He's done it - a lot, and he knows the work ethic and diligence and sacrifice it takes to do it."
Glen also admitted that he's "having a blast" at the moment.
He said: "It's been a surreal year. It’s been a really wild one - 2024 I got to release Anyone but You and Hitman and Twisters, and just had a wild journey with all of them, and now this year, we've got some more really great ones cued up.
"So, I'm having a blast. It's awesome."
What's more, Glen explained how his Running Man movie will differ from the 1987 original, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.
He shared: "It's based on the Stephen King book, which was like a big road movie, it travelled the world. You know, the entire world's hunting him.
"In Arnold's movie, they sort of stay in the studio and they have sort of hunters that kind of hunt them down there, but ours is sort of more globe-trotting. It's big. It's fun."
