The words hit man usually invoke the name Agent 47, the bald globe-trotting professional assassin with a bar code on the back of his head from the hitHitmangame franchise. At this year’sToronto International Film Festival, however,Richard Linklater’s true-crime comedyHit Maninstead focuses onGlen Powellwho playsGary Johnson, a cop going undercover as a highly sought-after hitman and catching his would-be hirers. One key similarity between Gary and 47, however, is their love of different disguises. At Collider’sTIFF media studio at the Cinema Center at MARBL, Linklater sat down withSteve Weintraubto discuss the many bizarre costumes theTop Gun: Maverickstar dons throughout the film’s runtime.
Powell’s outfits are farmore than just wardrobe changes. He also adds tattoos, makeup, and much more in an effort to separate Gary’s various personas. Each of his many appearances is tailor-made to coincide with his mark, transforming him from his mild-mannered philosophy professor day job into everything from a redneck to a sexy lone-wolf killer and much, much weirder. Gary’s main persona, the aforementioned lone wolf Ron, is his go-to for most of the film ashe springs into actionto help a woman escape her abusive husband. Linklater loved the collaboration on set with the outfits and said the reveal of Glen in full costume turned heads every time:
“[Laughs] Oh my god, this movie was so fun to make because we had worked on these looks. I’d seen tests, and we had all these pictures, and Glen really went to town on the different characters. We would talk about each one. We dropped a few, these series of would-be hitmen, but the presentation was kind of the same. We would be preparing the set, but Glen has to go to makeup, so he would get out of the van or whatever and be this guy and the whole crew, everybody standing around, we’d just go [gasps].”
Linklater and the Crew Were in Stitches at One of Powell’s Wildest Personas
Of all the looks Linklater saw, his personal favorite came in at the end, making an unforgettable coup de grâce for the shoot. He described it as if Powell was abducted from the set and replaced with an alien creature, adding:
“But the best is the very odd orange-haired guy with freckles. He’s the last one, we saved kind of the best for last because he’s just so weird. When he stepped in—that was the last day of shooting, too, we kind of snuck that one—and when Glen got out of the van, I’ll never forget the whole crew, we just all went, ‘What the fuck has happened? What has descended on our movie set? Who is this creature from another planet?’ It was so funny. It was just so funny.”
Linklater and Powell co-wroteHit Manasa somewhat true storybased on an article penned bySkip Hollandsworth. This film marks their fourth collaboration, but it’s also the first time they’ve ever taken up writing duties together on a project. The rest of the cast featuresAdria Arjona,Retta,Austin Amelio, andMolly Bernard.
There’s currently no release date forHit Man. For now, check out our full interview with Linklater below and stay tuned here at Collider for more coverage from TIFF 2023.
