The star gets ready to race at EW's cover story for the Edgar Wrightdirected dystopian thriller. Hot pursuit: See The Running Man star Glen Powell's cover shoot

The star gets ready to race at EW's cover story for the Edgar Wright-directed dystopian thriller.

Hot pursuit: See The Running Man star Glen Powell's cover shoot photos

The star gets ready to race at EW's cover story for the Edgar Wright-directed dystopian thriller.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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October 9, 2025 12:30 p.m. ET

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Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW. Credit:

On your mark, get set, go!

Glen Powell is ready to race as Ben Richards in director Edgar Wright's dystopian thriller, *The Running Man*. In it, Richards is an angry, unemployed father, so desperate to get money for his sick child that he joins a deadly game show where he must run for his life — literally — while the whole country tries to hunt him down.

Co-written by Wright and Michael Bacall, and based on the Stephen King novel of the same name, the film also stars Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, Michael Cera, and Emilia Jones. Ahead of its release on Nov. 14, check out photos from EW's cover shoot with Powell, and read the full cover story here.

A glowing review

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Wright says Powell "is just brilliant" in the film, particularly because he's so relatable. "It's like watching one of those films where somebody becomes an action hero within the film, like when you watch *Raiders of the Lost Ark* or the first *Die Hard* and see Harrison Ford and Bruce Willis becoming superhuman within the movie," he says. "You can go on the journey with them as they are fallible and they make mistakes and they don't have all the answers, and sometimes they're in situations where they don't know exactly what they're doing. And Ben is a character like that."

Wright adds, "Sometimes he has a plan and sometimes he's just completely winging it, and Glen is just perfect at pulling that off. He's got real intensity, and he threw himself into the role physically. He's inherently charming even when he's at his angriest, and it was just really great fun to put him literally and figuratively on the treadmill."

A changed man

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

"I saw Glen at the beginning, and I saw Glen at the end, and let me tell you, he gives a thousand percent to this role," raves Lee Pace, who plays Evan McCone, the man in charge of hunting down Ben Richards.

"It was like a changed man from the beginning of the movie to the end of the movie," the actor adds. "He did every stunt; he did every fight. He was on set every single day, and he gave it a thousand percent and had a great time doing it. He just really relished the experience of playing Ben Richards."

Plus, Pace notes, he "just looks badass."

Colman Domingo previews 'rollercoaster ride' of 'The Running Man'

Glen Powell and Edgar Wright take EW on the set of 'The Running Man' (exclusive)

In good company

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Powell called up his mentor, Tom Cruise (who knows a thing or two about running onscreen himself) to get advice for the stunt-heavy role.

"What is your advice on not only how to make these things look authentic for an audience, but how to survive a movie?" Powell says he asked Cruise. "And he was very clear about what that journey looks like. One was clearly stating that stunts are just as painful as the real thing. He's like, you got to really fortify your body because it's like a normal fight."

Powell adds, "It was made very clear after talking to him that there was a real sense of discipline around these things and to treat these stunts with reverence, because you can get extremely hurt, and he knows it better than anyone. He's broken every bone in his body. He's like, this is not messing around."

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

*The Running Man*, for all of its stunts and high-wire acts, also allowed Powell the chance to play something a little more heart: A father. Though not a parent in real life, that part of the role still came naturally to Powell.

"I would say a big part of my identity, a big part of who I am, is that gear of feeling like an uncle, feeling and caring for my family to a monumental degree, in which it wasn't a far stretch for my imagination of how far I would go for that little girl," he says.

On the other hand, he jokes of his rescue dog, "I guess I *am* a father, I'm a father of Brisket. It's not exactly the same thing, but Brisket's my child of sorts; he's spoiled better than any kid that I've ever met. And I would sign up for a murderous game show for Brisket for sure."**

Rage against the machine

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

When Powell read the King book on which the film is based, he says he was struck by how angry his character is. "It was so clear that it was an angry time in Stephen King's life," he explains. "It was a time in which he was really frustrated. I think a lot of people in the '80s were feeling this sort of paranoia of a power that was pushing people down and something they couldn't control, and a system getting out of hand."

He continues, "And that's where you saw a lot of the creative influences that defined that era that can be spiritually linked to *The Running Man. *But I find what's really interesting about Ben Richards in particular is that where a lot of other stories focus on paranoia and whatnot of a system, this is really about a man fighting against that system."

The longest fuse

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Richards' righteous anger is a far cry from Powell's real-life personality. Wright would refer to that side of the character as "Bad Mood Glen" on set. So, what gets Powell in a bad mood? "What's really funny is nobody's asked me that ever. And it makes me laugh because I would say as a person, I'm known for having a very long fuse. It takes a lot to make me lose my patience. I can tend to breathe through a lot of really bad situations. And it's served me so far."

Chasing danger

Glen Powell photographed exclusively for EW on September 9, 2025 in Los Angeles.

Powell admits that *The Running Man —* "by far" the most physically demanding role he's had to date — really scared him. However, he also believes that fear makes it all worthwhile.

"That's one of the things that I think I'm taking away from this experience, is letting yourself go on a dangerous run," he says. "Taking a bit of a dangerous journey and trusting that you'll probably survive. On this one, I was proud that I made it to the other side — this was a gauntlet in every way. Spiritually, physically, and emotionally, it was a true crucible, but it always arms you with new things on the other side. So I think I'm chasing the danger a little bit more."

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our EW Dispatch newsletter.***

Click here to read 's *The Running Man* cover story.

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