You’ve probably seen the posters. Glen Powell looking slick, wearing a variety of increasingly absurd disguises—everything from a redheaded Russian to a Patrick Bateman-esque sociopath. The movie Hit Man is a blast. It’s sexy, it’s fast, and it’s basically a two-hour argument for why Powell is our next massive movie star.
But here is the thing: the "true story" part is complicated.
Most people walk away from the Netflix hit thinking they just watched a biopic. They didn't. They watched a very clever "what if" scenario. The real Gary Johnson wasn't exactly a guy who went on a murderous rampage for love. He was actually much more interesting, in a quiet, slightly depressing kind of way.
The Real Gary Johnson vs. The Movie Legend
The foundation of the movie is 100% real. There actually was a guy named Gary Johnson. He lived in Houston, not New Orleans. He was a staff investigator for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office. And yes, he taught psychology and human sexuality at a local community college.
Gary was a bit of a ghost.
His neighbors thought he worked in human resources. In reality, he was the guy the police called when a socialite wanted her husband "removed" or a disgruntled employee wanted to off their boss. He didn't just play a hit man once or twice. He did it for three decades.
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By the time he retired, Gary had helped the police arrest over 60 people. He was so good at it that the legendary journalist Skip Hollandsworth wrote an article about him for Texas Monthly in 2001. That article is what eventually caught the eye of Richard Linklater and Glen Powell.
The Disguises Were Different
In the film, Powell’s Gary creates these elaborate personas tailored to the specific psychological needs of his "clients." He wears contact lenses, wigs, and fake teeth.
The real Gary was a bit more low-key.
He didn't usually go for the "theatrical" level of costume. Usually, it was just a change in posture, a different jacket, or a specific way of speaking. He was a master of the "vibe." He knew that people wanting to hire a killer are already living in a fantasy world. They want to believe they’ve found the right guy. He just gave them enough of a reflection to make them feel safe enough to hand over the cash.
Where "Hit Man" Becomes Pure Fiction
If you’ve seen the movie, you know the plot takes a wild turn when Gary meets Madison (played by Adria Arjona). He falls for her, helps her escape her abusive husband, and eventually... well, let's just say things get bloody.
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None of that happened. Honestly.
- The Romance: The real Gary Johnson never dated a client. He was a professional. He was also a self-described "loner." He was married and divorced three times. His second wife, Sunny, once told the press that he was the "chillest dude imaginable" but that he preferred the company of his cats, Id and Ego, to most humans.
- The Murder: This is the big one. The real Gary Johnson never killed anyone. Not a corrupt cop, not an abusive husband. Nobody. He was a law-enforcement officer through and through. The ending of the movie is a total fabrication designed to explore the philosophical idea of "self" and whether we can actually change who we are.
- The Location: Moving the story to New Orleans was a choice for the film’s atmosphere. The real drama played out in the strip malls and bowling alleys of Houston, Texas.
Why Glen Powell Wanted to Tell This Story
Powell didn't just act in this. He co-wrote the script with Linklater. He spent hours listening to old recordings of the real Gary Johnson’s police debriefs.
He was obsessed with the idea of a "man who doesn't exist."
Think about it. A hit man is a mythical figure. There aren't actually many (if any) freelance, professional assassins for hire that you can find via a guy who knows a guy. Almost every "hit man" you hear about is either a clumsy amateur or an undercover cop like Gary.
Gary was playing a character that existed only in the movies. Powell loved that irony. He wanted to play a guy who was playing a guy.
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The Evolution of the Script
Originally, other writers tried to make this a straight-up thriller. They wanted it to be dark and gritty. But Powell and Linklater saw the comedy in it. They saw the absurdity of a guy teaching a class on the "Ego" in the morning and pretending to be a cold-blooded killer in the afternoon.
The movie is basically a "screwball noir." It’s a genre that doesn’t really exist much anymore, which is probably why it felt so fresh when it hit Netflix.
The Legacy of the Real Gary Johnson
Sadly, the real Gary Johnson passed away in 2022. He never got to see Glen Powell’s version of his life.
He lived his final years in a quiet house with a garden and a koi pond. He practiced Buddhism. He meditated. He was the guy who could send 60 people to prison for life and then go home and worry about his goldfish.
Actionable Takeaways for Movie Buffs
If you're a fan of the film or just interested in the real-life psychology of undercover work, here is what you should do next:
- Read the Original Article: Go find Skip Hollandsworth’s 2001 piece "Hit Man" in Texas Monthly. It’s a masterpiece of long-form journalism and gives a much better look at the "real" Gary.
- Check Out "Bernie": If you like the Linklater/Hollandsworth vibe, watch the movie Bernie starring Jack Black. It’s another true-crime story based on a Hollandsworth article, and it’s just as weird and Texas-centric.
- Explore the Philosophy: The movie asks if we can "fake it until we make it" with our own personalities. Gary Johnson believed we all have multiple masks. Maybe try a "persona" for a day in a low-stakes environment (like a new coffee shop) and see how it changes your behavior.
The hit man Glen Powell version of this story is a fun, sexy lie. The real version is a quiet, meditative study of a man who spent his life looking at the darkest parts of the human heart and decided he’d rather just hang out with his cats. Both are worth your time.
Next Steps:
If you're looking for more real-life stories that are stranger than fiction, you should look into the history of the Harris County DA's office in the 90s. The cases Gary worked on weren't just "angry husbands"—they involved some of the most bizarre solicitation plots in Texas history. Look up the Kathy Scott case if you want to see how Gary's first big sting actually went down.