Richard Linklater and Glen Powell Talk Putting Together Hit Man
Richard Linklater and Glen Powell have teamed up to create the star-studded Hit Man. It follows Gary Johnson as he takes on a role with the New Orleans police department as an undercover hitman, catching attempted murderers. He builds a new facade for each of his targets that suits them. Everything changes when he connects with Madison, convincing her to run away from her obsessive husband instead of taking a darker path she cannot return from. It is there that their love story is born. At a press conference, Linklater and Powell discussed the creation of Hit Man, while Adria Arjona, Retta, and Sanjay Rao talked about coming on board and how they worked together to make this vision come to life.
Hit Man was inspired by a Texas Monthly article called “Hit Man” by Skip Hollingsworth, which Powell found during the pandemic. The real-life Gary Johnson was a multifaceted man who was a professor of psychology, went undercover with the police department, had an interest in AV equipment, and was also an ornithologist and a Zen Buddhist. “All I knew is that there was a fascinating guy here,” said Powell, “and they called him a Laurence Olivier fake hitman because he approached the job differently.
Powell became invested in Johnson’s storyline and, when thinking of the best person to bring this idea to, he landed on Linklater, who, according to Powell, jokingly said, “Yeah, I read that article when you were in seventh grade.” Linklater was previously interested in the storyline but kept running into a problem. “It didn't really work as a film because there was this repetition,” he said. “It didn't really go anywhere.” But Powell wanted to dig a little deeper. He suggested that they keep the essence of the story, but deviate, creating a fictional storyline that allowed them to explore different avenues of Johnson’s life.
One element that stood out to Powell when reading the article was the storyline of a woman whom Johnson talked out of killing her husband instead of incriminating her. This wasn’t something Johnson typically did, which left Powell wanting to know more. But the article never builds on the story, leaving the window of opportunity wide open. He and Linklater pulled from that curiosity, leading to the idea of Gary Johnson being stuck in the identity of Ron. “If he got stuck in this identity as this fake hitman, you have this amazing character math where you have a guy who's teaching humanity, but not experiencing humanity,” said Powell.
The creative choice to dive into an alternate universe of what Johnson's life could have been allowed the story to come together. But as we know, no truly great film is complete without the perfect cast. Casting Madison correctly was a critical part of the story, and Linklater and Powell were instantly drawn to the brilliance of Adria Arjona. There was an instant connection and interest that allowed her to join the team effortlessly. Arjona was met with a filmmaker who wanted to pick her brain about her ideas for the character and whose work she always appreciated. “I always aspired to be an actress in one of Rick's movies,” she said. “It always feels like his characters are saying words for the first time, and it feels so fresh.”
Powell called her casting integral to the writing process. “She really brought so much nuance and mystery to this. So much humanity and authenticity to every single moment where I feel like this could have been, for a lesser actress, a very paint-by-number sort of thing,” he said. “And this movie really cooks and cooks in a very unexpectedly vibrant way because Adria really came in with a lot of very cool ideas.” It’s clear that the collaborative effort of putting together Madison’s character is what allows her to be such a standout. She isn’t just a damsel in distress and Arjona wouldn’t classify her as a femme fatale either. Tapping into who Madison was throughout the creation of the project allowed for an authentic and genuine version of her.
While Powell explained that the movie holds no true genre, as it really stands out on its own as a melting pot, a big part of the film is comedy. Casting Retta and Sanjay Rao added to those elements of the story.
Though Retta auditioned for the film, she never actually heard back from Linklater. Some time after, she ran into Powell at a party, where he let it slip that she got the part, to which she replied, “Dude, did I get the job?” She then went home to text her manager, asking if someone forgot to mention that she got the part. Though she now knows Linklater just simply forgot to mention it. Her prior relationship with both men, having worked with them before, made her confident about the film. Though Claude was originally written for a male, she jumped into the role as herself if she were a detective. It was effortless. Powell said her love of true crime was a secret weapon on set, as she “became a weapon of fact-checking and poking holes in our plot.”
Rao came in feeling complete support from Linklater, who pushed him to bring himself to the role, which is what he used as his driving force. His and Retta’s comedy experience allowed for an organic exchange of ideas and energy, which he feels allowed them to push themselves, or "get through the chaff so that we can find some really good stuff there.”
The environment of the film’s creation really comes through as Linklater and Powell have worked together before and have learned to honor and appreciate each other’s work. As they both evolve, so has this friendship and their creativity. It’s safe to say this project has inspired Powell, as he praises Linklater for not being sucked in by Hollywood and staying true to his roots in Bastrop, Texas. Expressing that he one day hopes to do the same, have his own ranch where he can create. “The more that you can stay out on your own and cook things up with people that you believe in, with stories you believe in, I think that's how you have a long run,” he said.
Hitman will be streaming on Netflix on June 7.
