Richard Linklater’s upcoming comedy about a fake hired gun, Hit Man, is about to take the world by storm. Led and co-written by Glen Powell, it marks their third collaboration after the animated feature Apollo 10 ½ (2022), and Powell’s first-ever writing credit. Ahead of its scheduled international release on Netflix in June, FILMHOUNDS caught up with one of its breakout stars, Sanjay Rao.
Let’s start with talking about working with Richard Linklater on Hit Man. How was that experience for you?
It was amazing, this being my first bigger project, my first feature film that people are actually gonna see. The other people in the cast, Retta, Austin [Amelio], Glen [Powell], they’ve worked with a lot of people. They were telling me, “Oh, you’re spoiled.” Because Rick [Linklater] is one of a kind. I felt really spoiled. It was so inspirational because – I don’t know if this comes off as corny — he’s an artist. He’s the real deal. He’s got the eye, he’s got that curiosity. He loves making movies. And that totally came through. This guy loves to make movies and him and Glen, both their lives were about making this movie. That was really inspirational just to see how much passion they put into it.
For sure, Linklater is definitely one of the strongest voices in contemporary cinema.
Absolutely. As a writer, as a director — he’s wearing all the hats. Obviously we have a production designer, DP and all these other parts of the film, but he has a hand in all of it. His shot selection, his colour palette, the tone that he’s going for the movie, it’s all just A+ level. I was just really lucky to be a part of it. For me, it was just like “Oh, where do you want me Rick? You want me there and you want me to do it like that? I will do it just like it. Whatever you want, man. I’ll do it.” This is one of the great film auteurs of our time. It really hit me after the fact. When you’re doing it, it’s a little scary, right? I remember getting home, after the whole production. It was just like, “I just worked with an Oscar-winning director, Rick Linklater.” And then you start noticing it everywhere. I’ll start listening to podcasts of other directors, or writers, or creators, and they all just have so much respect for Rick Linklater and his work. It’s just really cool to be part of that. I’m a little bit of part of the canon there.
For those that haven’t seen it yet, can you tell us a little bit about your role in the film?
So I play the role of Phil, I am part of the police team. The way I explain it is, Glen plays Gary Johnson, who is an undercover hitman, and while he’s out in the field as an undercover hitman, I’m the guy in his ear from the van. I’m his support, I’m his tech guy, I provide him with all the information going into these sting operations. I compile a whole dossier of research and information that he can then use to create his hitman persona. Then I think me and Retta also serve as some comedic relief in the film. We’re a bit of a duo and when Gary does something weird and crazy, we’re the ones that are like, “Did you just see that? Like, can you believe this shit?”
Like mirrors of the audience almost.
Exactly, the viewpoint of the audience. And then my character also, I am not ashamed to say, has a little bit of a bromance or a man-crush on Ron, who is one of Gary’s alter egos. It’s not that hard to pretend that you have a man crush on Glen Powell. It’s really not. So when Rick said, “Hey, on this take, swoon,” I was like, I’m already ahead of you. I’ve been swooning for the last four takes.
We have to talk about Glen, then. Can you tell us about working with him?
One thing that’s pretty awesome, but also a little infuriating – Glen is actually really funny. You know, right? Not only does he look like that, not only is he a great actor, not only is he just cool as shit, he’s also nice and really funny. One highlight of working with Glen specifically, because I got to have a couple of scenes with him, we talked a lot about just being in the moment and what it means to be a good actor. I remember there were a couple times where I would watch Glen act and I would totally just be lost in what he was doing, which to me is the sign of a great actor. There’s a moment when we’re in a car and he’s just kind of going on about pileated woodpeckers. I was in the front seat. Glen was in the back seat. And I looked in the rearview mirror and it just felt, this guy is really into pileated woodpeckers. There was another moment where me and Retta were doing a scene and Glen was off on set, milling about, and I noticed him; he had lost his keys. And he starts looking around for his keys. And I’m thinking like, “Oh no, someone, Glen lost his keys, someone should go help him.” And then he starts going through the whole process again, and I realized he hadn’t lost his keys, he was just pretending to lose his keys. He’s messing around in character, because he had to dork himself up a little bit before a scene, to become Gary. Which is honestly kind of amazing because again, Glen is so cool. And then he would show up on set as Gary with these jean shorts and these glasses and you’d be like, “This guy, are you kidding me?” He embodied it. It’s just watching someone transform like that in front of your eyes. And it was just really inspirational, it was really fun to act and play with him. He was just on point on every level.
Also just how he conducted himself on set, he was approachable, he was polite, he was nice. He was cool. He was like all the things that you would want your lead actor to be. There’s no rules saying like they have to be nice or anything. But he was just a consummate professional, consummate gentleman. I’ve met his parents several times. They’re just lovely people. I don’t know if people know this, but Glen brings his parents pretty much everywhere. He puts them in every movie that he’s in. I recently watched anyone but you and they’re in there. He’s kind of a rocket ship right now. He’s everywhere, but he still brings his mom with him around, he’s still just grounded in his family and his people.
How was your experience on set and any highlights for you?
I will say my first day on set, I’m coming in, I’m really nervous. One of the first moments, I remember I slipped and I fell out of the prop van that we were using, so that was just a little embarrassing when four PAs came up running and asked, “Are you okay? Are you hurt?” And I’m just like, only my ego, right?
You kind of broke the ice though. Once you do that, what else can go wrong, really?
Right? there’s nowhere lower to go. We’re okay here. But honestly, it’s just being able to act with people like Glen Powell, Retta, and Austin Amelio. Just being in the room with them. Being able to be a part of Rick’s whole process. Taking in the city of New Orleans, which before the movie, even though I’m from Texas, I actually hadn’t really been to. Feeling the city was really cool. New Orleans is an awesome city. It’s so fun. It has so much history and culture and the food lives up to the hype, in my opinion. Rick is able to infuse a lot of the soul of the city in the movie with certain shots. I remember there’s one particular shot where there’s a street corner of Piety Street and Pleasure Street, and that’s in the movie. I can’t confirm this, but I can only imagine, Rick, you’ll be talking to him, you’ll just be hanging out on the set, and then something will catch his eye. Like an old door that has a really interesting look. Then he’ll just stop and be like, “Look at that door,” but he means it. I can only imagine he found shots like that all throughout, that helped to infuse the story with this wonderful city of New Orleans.
I would also say the rehearsal process was also very, very much a high point for me. I got cast in the film and they asked me to come for a few days of rehearsal a few weeks before they’re starting production. I come in and I think it’s going to be more like a theater rehearsal; we’ll get up and we’ll work out these scenes. But it was really more organic. We’re going to sit at a table and we’re just gonna read through the script, we’re gonna play out, hang out and feel the vibe, see wherever the conversation goes, and we’ll go there. Rick will pull us back when we need to come back to the script, but wherever the conversation went, from current events, news, personal stories about your family, it was all fair game. Our dynamic, or at least the police team, in that rehearsal room started to really mimic our dynamic in the script and on screen.
I think… you know, I’ve never called him Rick before. I’m gonna call him Rick now. Rick is really interested in people being funny because they’re people, not for any other exaggerated reason, and that’s why he’s so good at what he does.
I guess that’s the perk of this film. I can now call him Rick, forever.
I’m claiming this. I’m taking it with me. By proxy, you know?
Yeah. If a year from now he’s like, “Actually it’s Richard,” I know I did something wrong.
Hit Man is such a team effort. Throughout, every performance is so comedic, so spot on. I saw it in October at the London Film Festival and I had never seen an audience love something so much. What do you hope the reaction will be to it once it comes out?
I’m, honestly, pretty confident that the reaction’s gonna be great. From what I’ve seen so far online everyone’s just gushing about this movie, you know? I just hope a lot of people get to see it, and the movie has a little bit of a moment for Rick and Glen and everybody else. Obviously I have my hopes and dreams about the whole thing; as a self-deprecating actor, sometimes it’s hard to really be proud of your work. It’s a really weird space to be in. I don’t know a single actor who doesn’t cringe a little bit when they watch themselves. But this movie I’m genuinely just really proud to have been a part of. How many people get to be in a movie? How many people get to be in a movie with an Oscar-winning director and a movie star? And the movie’s really fucking good. And really fun, and smart, funny, thrilling, all of the above. It’s just great. I just feel really grateful to be a part of it.
Hit Man got picked up by Netflix and it’s seemingly unlikely to get a wide theatrical release, and going straight to streaming. There’s been some hard feelings online about that. Do you have any take on it?
I also got to see it in a big theatre. They had us out at Sundance a few months ago, which was awesome. I hope it will be released in some theatres just so people can have that experience of watching it with other people. I think this is such a fun movie and the laughs really just bounce off of each other, and it’s so fun to watch it with everyone. And at the same time, you know, being in the movie, I want as many people to see it as possible. Not only for my own sake, but I mean, you saw it, the movie is pretty good. It’s a really great time. And I think a lot of people are going to have a great time with it. So watch it with your friends, watch it with your family. If it does get a theatrical release, go to the theatre and watch it there.
Do you think it’s important for there to be films that don’t take themselves too seriously?
Absolutely. I think it’s important to have films that are just across the board, all across the spectrum. Similar with novels and similar with plays. I just think any expression is good. A movie that doesn’t take itself too seriously, especially nowadays, is very refreshing. It’s just nice to see a movie that’s able to thread that line of being smart, saying something, but at the same time, not taking itself too seriously. and it’s nice to see people like Rick and Glen who are A-listers do that, you know? There’s moments where Glen is not taking himself so seriously. He is choosing to dress down, be a little dorkier or nerdier than he is, portraying a character that’s, I don’t want to say loser, but a little bit, right? Because I imagine if you had a beer with Gary, it would be kind of a quiet half hour and then you’d be looking at your phone trying to think of excuses to leave.
Hit Man releases on Netflix on June 7.
