Richard Linklater has cast Glen Powell in his latest film as he believes the actor shares the same shyness as the film’s main character. The film, titled ‘Hit Man’, is an action-comedy that received a positive response at this year’s Venice Film Festival. Powell, known for his role in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, plays Gary Johnson, a college professor who works undercover for the New Orleans Police Department to uncover assassination plots. The story is based on an article written by Skip Hollandsworth, who also co-wrote Linklater’s film ‘Bernie’.
In ‘Hit Man’, Gary takes on various disguises, which Linklater sees as a metaphor for the acting process and for Powell’s own character. The director believes that many actors are shy and use their roles as a way to hide, much like Gary does in the film. Linklater suggests that acting is essentially role-playing and questions whether everyone engages in some form of acting in their lives.
‘Hit Man’ was screened at the Venice Film Festival alongside other hitman films such as David Fincher’s ‘The Killer’ and ‘In the Land of Saints and Sinners’ starring Liam Neeson. Linklater believes that his film deconstructs the typical hitman narrative and challenges the notion of these types of movies.