Glen Powell was offered The Running Man, then got stressed when he found out Stephen King was going to watch one of his films before saying yes
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Credit: Paramount Pictures
From what many actors say, it seems like the hardest part of the job is the audition process. Most actors have to compete for major roles and then wait for a response, with most of those who try out ultimately being rejected. That must have been a pretty tough experience, but Glen Powell must have gone through what might have been an even worse experience, waiting for Stephen King’s approval after thinking he had a role.
Both star of the next adaptation of The running manGlen Powell and the film’s writer and director Edgar Wright appeared at New York Comic Con, and (via People) Powell revealed that he had to wait for Stephen King’s approval for his casting. It seems it all depends on how King viewed one of Powell’s recent performances. The actor said…
Edgar suggested this film to me and I told him: “Yes”. I’m like, ‘Let’s go…’ And then, later that night [Edgar says]”By the way, you have to be approved by Stephen King. He’s going to watch Hit Man tonight. So I had to wait all night for Stephen King to watch Hit Man and hope I still got the part in the morning. It’s terrible.
It’s not uncommon for successful authors to gain some degree of approval when their work is made into a film. Stephen King is one of the most famous authors of all time, and King has been frustrated with adaptations of his own work in the past. It seems that to allow a new adaptation of The running manKing wanted to approve the lead actor.
Fortunately that of Richard Linklater Hitman was a fairly well-regarded film, and Powell’s performance was called a highlight by many critics. At the very least, it shows that Powell is capable of directing a major motion picture.
But even before King gave the green light to Powell’s casting, he Also had script approval. Edgar Wright says it was equally nerve-wracking to submit the film script and wait for approval from the author. As he said:
Stephen King read the script before we started filming, and you know, Stephen King, he’s like the most famous English teacher in history… I was like, “It’s so nerve-wracking to have to hand in our homework to [him].’ But he loved the script, so it was great.
Getting Stephen King’s endorsement as an actor would be stressful enough, as King is an obvious movie buff who loves movies and watches a lot of them. But as a writer, I can’t imagine taking my writing to King for an opinion. I’d probably have a heart attack waiting for an answer.
Stephen King gave his approval for both the actor and the script, and he has since seen The running man and also a strong endorsement of the finished product. The running man hits theaters next month.
