Glen Powell said his experience while filming The Running Man was so physically draining that he just had to show it to the iconic action star Arnold Schwarzenegger. And, the actor who starred in the original 1987 Stephen King adaptation had a very strong opinion about the movie.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan, Powell stated that Schwarzenegger was incredibly happy with how the film turned out. Both actors were in agreement that The Running Man was the perfect King-inspired movie.
He was so excited that the Stephen King book we put on screen – it’s really the first time Stephen’s vision has been properly adapted. He just kept saying, ‘It’s incredible.’
Powell revealed that Schwarzenegger agreed that The Running Man was likely the most brutal movie he had ever been in. “He loved it – freaked out, was so excited. But the first thing he told me, he goes, ‘This was a very painful movie for you.’ He’s shot so many action movies, and he knows what it takes to throw yourself around.“
The actor spoke about how it can be a little disheartening at times when most viewers don’t realize how much work actually goes into stunts for action movies. He believed that people usually think that it’s all for show and that no one actually gets hurt during the process, so it was refreshing to have someone who understood and appreciated the pain he had to endure for The Running Man.
It’s a process to really sell stunts. From an outsider’s perspective, when you’re watching a movie, you’re like, ‘Okay, I’m sure they’re padded up or whatever,’ but you’re delivering and taking a lot of hits over the course of a movie. And Arnold really appreciated that. He’s like, ‘One of the hardest action movies – those are just not easy things to get right.’
Powell also praised the director, Edgar Wright, for putting his own unique spin on the film. “Edgar Wright is obviously one of the great filmmakers, and he adds this whole wild tone to the whole thing,” he explained. The actor also joked that he wished he didn’t have to “constantly ice” his body.
Although the movie turned out great, Powell did admit that things got a little messy behind the scenes. He said that there was a lot of “drama” and that’s one of the many reasons why he was so relieved that everything worked out in the end.
It was one of those movies that had some problems when they were shooting it. I think the director dropped out a couple weeks in; there was a lot of drama around it. It’s a really big, ambitious world, and I think they didn’t feel like they had the proper resources to really deliver.
The Running Man will be released in theaters on November 14, 2025.