You’ve probably seen the trailers or heard the buzz about the guy who pretends to kill people for a living but actually works for the police. It sounds like one of those "only in Hollywood" fever dreams. But who played the hitman in the breakout 2024 movie Hit Man? That would be Glen Powell. He didn't just act in it; he basically willed the whole project into existence.
If you’re looking for a simple answer, there it is. Glen Powell plays Gary Johnson. But the story is a lot messier and more interesting than just a name on a casting sheet. Gary Johnson was a real guy. He lived in Houston. He taught psychology and philosophy at a community college. He also happened to be the greatest "fake" contract killer the Texas justice system ever saw.
Richard Linklater, the director behind Boyhood and Dazed and Confused, teamed up with Powell to turn a 2001 Texas Monthly article into this existential rom-com-thriller hybrid. It’s a weird mix. It works because Powell is a bit of a chameleon.
The Man Behind the Masks
When we ask who played the hitman, we aren't just talking about one character. We are talking about dozens. Gary Johnson’s real-life "gift" was his ability to read people. He’d meet a potential "client"—someone who wanted their husband, wife, or business partner dead—and he’d figure out exactly what kind of hitman they expected.
Sometimes he was a slick, professional type in a suit. Other times, he was a tattooed biker with a grudge against the world. Powell goes all out with this. One minute he’s wearing a weird wig and a British accent; the next, he’s a quiet, unassuming nerd. Honestly, it’s a masterclass in watching an actor play a character who is also acting. It’s meta.
The real Gary Johnson was reportedly a very "zen" person. He lived alone with two cats named Id and Ego. Think about that for a second. The guy responsible for putting over 60 people in jail for solicitation of capital murder spent his off-hours reading Jung and tending to his garden. Powell captures that stillness before diving into the high-stakes theater of the stings.
Why Glen Powell Was the Only Choice
There was a lot of talk about other actors taking this role. But Powell has this specific brand of "Texas charm" that feels authentic. He grew up in Austin. He knows the rhythm of the place.
Most people recognize him as Hangman from Top Gun: Maverick. He has that classic movie star jawline, sure. But in Hit Man, he proves he can be the awkward guy in the back of the classroom too. It’s that range that makes the movie feel grounded even when the plot starts spiraling into chaos. He and Linklater wrote the script together over Zoom during the pandemic. They obsessed over the original reporting by Skip Hollandsworth. They wanted to make sure they didn't just make a "cool assassin" movie. They wanted to explore why people want to kill each other in the first place.
🔗 Read more: Blink-182 Mark Hoppus: What Most People Get Wrong About His 2026 Comeback
The Adria Arjona Factor
You can't talk about who played the hitman without mentioning who he was playing against. Adria Arjona plays Madison, a woman who tries to hire Gary to kill her abusive husband. This is where the movie pivots from a procedural to something much more dangerous.
Instead of arresting her, Gary (playing his "hitman" persona, Ron) tells her to take the money and start a new life. They fall in love. It’s a mess. The chemistry between Powell and Arjona is what really sold the film to Netflix for a staggering $20 million at the Toronto International Film Festival.
- The movie changes the real-life ending significantly.
- In reality, Gary Johnson never actually got romantically involved with a client.
- He did, however, refer a woman to social services instead of arresting her, which is the "seed" of the movie's plot.
- The real Gary passed away in 2022, just before the movie began filming.
The film serves as a tribute to a man who lived a double life without ever losing his own identity. Or maybe he did. That’s sort of the point the movie tries to make—we are all playing parts, aren't we?
Understanding the "Hitman" Archetype in Film
People are obsessed with contract killers. From John Wick to The Killer (the David Fincher movie), we love the idea of a professional with a code. But Hit Man subverts this. It tells us that the "professional hitman" you see in movies—the guy with the silver briefcase and the silenced pistol—doesn't really exist.
If you try to hire a hitman in real life, you’re almost certainly talking to an undercover cop. That’s the reality Gary Johnson lived. He was the guy on the other side of the wire.
Other Famous "Hitmen" Who Aren't Glen Powell
If you landed here looking for a different "hitman" movie, there are a few others that usually get searched for.
- Michael Fassbender in The Killer: This is the cold, calculated, almost robotic version of the job.
- Timothy Olyphant or Rupert Friend in the Hitman (Agent 47) movies based on the video games. These are the bald guys with the barcodes.
- Bill Hader in Barry: This is probably the closest in tone to Powell’s version, blending dark comedy with genuine violence.
But when people ask who played the hitman lately, 90% of the time they mean Powell. He’s the one everyone is talking about because he managed to make a "hitman" movie where nobody actually gets "hit" (at least, not in the way you expect).
💡 You might also like: Why Grand Funk’s Bad Time is Secretly the Best Pop Song of the 1970s
The Ethics of Playing a Real Person
There’s always a bit of a moral grey area when Hollywood takes a real person’s life and adds a "sexy" romance or a murder cover-up. The real Gary Johnson was a Buddhist. He was a vegetarian. He was deeply concerned with the human psyche.
Powell and Linklater didn't want to make him a caricature. They kept the cats. They kept the teaching jobs. They kept the weird, lonely house. By staying true to the vibe of Gary, even if they changed the facts of his life for the plot, they created a more honest portrait of the man.
The movie asks: Can you ever really change who you are? Gary starts as a guy who is "too much" for his ex-wife and "too boring" for his colleagues. By the end, he’s found a way to integrate all his different masks into one person. It’s kinda deep for a movie that features a scene where a guy wears a fake ginger wig.
Where to See the Performance
If you haven't seen it yet, the film is primarily on Netflix. It had a very limited theatrical run because that’s just how streaming giants do things these days.
It’s worth watching just to see the "montage" of personas Powell adopts. There’s one guy with slicked-back hair and an orange tan that looks suspiciously like a parody of certain celebrities. There’s another who is basically a tech-bro nightmare. It’s clear Powell was having the time of his life.
The Impact on Glen Powell's Career
This role solidified Powell as more than just "the guy from Top Gun." It showed he could carry a movie as a lead, write a tight screenplay, and handle complex tonal shifts. After Anyone But You and Twisters, he’s arguably the biggest male lead in the world right now.
But Hit Man is the one that feels the most personal. It’s the one where he’s not just a set of abs or a cocky smile. He’s a weirdo. And honestly, we need more weirdos in Hollywood.
📖 Related: Why La Mera Mera Radio is Actually Dominating Local Airwaves Right Now
How to Dive Deeper Into the True Story
If the movie left you wanting to know the actual history of Gary Johnson, there are a few things you can do right now to get the full picture without the Hollywood polish.
Read the original Texas Monthly article.
It was written by Skip Hollandsworth in 2001. It is widely considered one of the best pieces of true crime journalism ever written. You’ll find the real details about Gary’s "hitman" setups and the actual people he caught. The article is titled "Hit Man" and it’s usually available on the magazine’s website.
Look up Gary Johnson’s "investigative" history.
While the movie is a comedy, the real Gary Johnson was involved in some very serious cases. He helped stop real murders. You can find archival news clips from Houston-area news outlets that mention his work with the police.
Watch Richard Linklater’s interviews.
If you’re interested in the "how" of the movie, Linklater has done several long-form interviews (check out The Town podcast or Fresh Air) where he talks about the philosophy of identity that drove the film.
Examine the psychological themes.
Since the real Gary was a psychology teacher, looking into the concepts of "Social Identity Theory" or "The Persona" in Jungian psychology will give you a much deeper appreciation for why Powell played the character the way he did. It wasn't just for laughs; it was a look at how we all perform for each other every day.
Follow Skip Hollandsworth’s work.
If you like the "stranger than fiction" vibe of Hit Man, Hollandsworth is the king of this genre. He also wrote the story that became the movie Bernie (starring Jack Black), which is another incredible "true" story about a polite killer in Texas.