“A fire extinguisher exploded in my face”: Glen Powell on ‘The Running Man’ set scares

In Hollywood, action stars often say they “risked it all” for a role but in Glen Powell’s case, it seems that’s quite literally true. The actor recently opened up about the intense and sometimes dangerous stunts he faced while shooting ‘The Running Man’, a remake of the 1987 cult classic.

Speaking at New York Comic Con, Powell admitted that filming some of the sequences left him genuinely shaken. “There were a few explosions that hit me in the face,” he said, laughing off the memory, before adding, “and a fire extinguisher that exploded before time, that definitely took me by surprise.”

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The new ‘Running Man’, directed by Edgar Wright, promises to reimagine the dystopian world where a desperate man fights to survive in a deadly game show watched by millions. Powell plays Ben Richards, the role made famous by Arnold Schwarzenegger, a man trying to win prize money to save his sick daughter while being hunted by assassins for public entertainment.

Powell confessed that, despite the challenges, he thrives on unpredictability. “I always try to keep myself surprised because that’s where the good stuff happens,” he explained. “You never want to be too surefooted on a set.” That attitude however led to a few hair-raising moments during production.

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Recalling one particularly intense scene, Powell shared that audiences will see a very real reaction when he falls down the side of a building. “They let a cable loose a little before I thought it was going to be let loose,” he revealed. “If you fall even a few feet when you’re not expecting it. It’s a little nerve-racking.”

Powell’s genuine shock it seems made the scene even more authentic. “Those are the moments you can’t fake,” he said with a grin.

The upcoming film brings together an impressive cast that includes Josh Brolin, Colman Domingo, Jayme Lawson, Lee Pace, Katy O’Brian, William H. Macy, Emilia Jones, Daniel Ezra, and Michael Cera. Director Edgar Wright, known for ‘Scott Pilgrim vs. The World’ and ‘Baby Driver’, co-wrote the script with Michael Bacall reuniting the duo after more than a decade.

The original ‘The Running Man’ released in 1987 starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and was based on a Stephen King story (written under his pseudonym Richard Bachman). It became a cult hit for its mix of action, satire, and social commentary on reality television before it even existed.