Hit Man: Glen Powell Reveals His Different Characters Were Crafted on the Spot

Hit Man is being celebrated by critics. Its star and co-writer talks a little bit about the process of creating it.

By Russ Burlingame

Hit Man co-writer and star Glen Powell revealed to ComicBook that while in production on the Richard Linklater movie, some of his characters eccentricities and alternate personalities were added on the spot. That's handy, obviously, because Linklater was his co-writer, so both writers were there the whole time those tweaks were being made. He explained some of his motivations, revealed which of his silly characters was co-star Adria Arjona's favorite, and who that one red-haired nut was based on.

The Top Gun: Maverick star has become one of Hollywood's most popular leading men in the last few years, and having a critically acclaimed movie like Hit Man under his belt as a writer can't hurt that trajectory. But as much as writing, there was a sequence that showed off a number of characters in rapid succession, giving a sense of his versatility as an actor.

"They were all so fun," Powell said. "The crazy part about this is that becuase we were so rushed in pre-production, I never got a chance to show Rick any of those characters until I stepped out of the van...I remember the conversation becuase we were rewriting, we were rehearsing with the cast. Adria [Arjona] added so much to this script, and we brought all the actors in, and everybody's contributing, so Rick and I are writing at night. We got to the night before, and he was like, 'I just trust that you got it.' I'm like, 'Yeah, I got it, we'll figure it out.' And so I was just working on some stuff, and stepped out of the van, and just was tehre to perform for the crew that day, and it was really, really fun."

"I do know that Adria's favorite is Tanner," Powel added. "He's the redneck guy who takes the law into his own hands. There was something about that that really gets her up in the morning."

Powell's previous writing credits include the short film, J.A.W., from 2011. The upcoming TV show, Chad Powers, is currently in production and will see Powell starring in the project in addition to co-writing. It was also previously reported that Powell would be co-writing a Captain Planet movie. 

Here's the film's official synopsis: 

Related:

From Academy Award-nominated writer/director Richard Linklater, co-written and starring Glen Powell alongside Adria Arjona, comes Hit Man. Inspired by an unbelievable true story, a hit man meets his match in a client who steals his heart and ignites a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities.

Hit Man comes to Netflix June 7. 

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