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‘The Running Man’ Cast and Characters Will Give You a Run for Your Money

We gotta stop entering these types of game shows, y'all...

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paramount's the running man new york premiere
  • Glen Powell leads the cast of The Running Man, directed by Edgar Wright.
  • The Running Man is about a game show with life or death stakes in a(n obviously) dystopian world.
  • The film is an adaptation of a Stephen King novel.

The Running Man, a new action movie from Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright, may star one of Hollywood's biggest men of the moment a.k.a. Glen Powell. But it also has an impressive ensemble cast, including some award-winning actors and performers with comedic chops to rival their muscles. Here's what you need to know about the cast of The Running Man and who they play in this fact-paced science fiction-y adventure.

The film takes place in a dystopian world where ordinary citizens are glued to the screen watching the titular reality competition. Contestants win a billion dollars if they survive for 30 days with real hunters trying to kill them, for real. That might remind you of The Hunger Games, Squid Game, or Battle Royale. But the Stephen King novel that The Running Man is based on was first released in 1982. (There's also The Long Walk, which came out this year and was adapted from a different King novel that he wrote in 1979. Wonder why we're all so obsessed with stories about going through the horrors to earn a little extra cash?) As for The Running Man, some of the characters we meet are runners. Others are hunters. Others are trying to take the system down.

1

Glen Powell plays Ben Richards

Ben Richards, the protagonist, is a down-on-his-luck everyman who enters the Running Man competition to support his wife and sick daughter.

Powell has been on a star-making run in the last five years with legacy sequels like Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick as well as romantic comedies like Anyone But You and Hitman. (Yes, Hitman is a romantic comedy...fight me!) Speaking of, the Netflix rom-com Set It Up with Zoe Deutch, Taye Diggs, and Lucy Liu was a favorite back in 2018. Lest we forget, he also has a Hulu comedy right now called Chad Powers. Prior to that, Powell appeared in the short-lived Ryan Murphy series Scream Queens and movies like Everybody Wants Some, Hidden Figures, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.

IG: @glenpowell

2

Josh Brolin plays Dan Killian

Dan is the executive producer of the show within the movie.

Brolin is, weirdly, best known for playing Thanos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But when he's not a giant purple people eater, he's known for everything from The Goonies to Sicario and True Grit toDune. He won a Screen Actor's Guild Award for No Country for Old Men and an Independent Spirit Award for Inherent Vice. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Milk. Plus, he has two other big movies this year, Weapons and Wake Up Dead Man.

IG: @joshbrolin

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3

Colman Domingo plays Bobby Thompson

Also known as Bobby T, he is the charismatic host of the game show. There's, like, a 1000 percent chance he inspired Caesar Flickerman in The Hunger Games.

When Domingo is not dominating a red carpet (it's not even a joke at this point, just a fact) he's starring in films like Sing Sing, Rustin, The Color Purple, Zola, If Beale Street Could Talk, and Candyman. His television credits include The Four Seasons on Netflix, Euphoria, Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and a personal favorite of mine, Fear the Walking Dead. As if all of that wasn't enough, he's also the voice of the Cowardly Lion (a.k.a. Brrr) in Wicked: For Good.

IG: @kingofbingo

4

Lee Pace plays Evan McCone

The game has runners, like Ben, and hunters like Evan McCone. He's a masked assassin hell-bent on taking our hero down.

Pace may be best known for major genre franchises like The Hobbit and Guardians of the Galaxy. He was also one of the bajillion vampires who show up in the last Twilight movie! Maybe you saw him die in Bodies Bodies Bodies. But he's most beloved by fans of shows like Pushing Daisies, Halt and Catch Fire, and Foundation. He also starred in the gorgeous epic The Fall and appeared in the adorable romantic comedy Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.

IG: @leeepfrog

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5

Jayme Lawson plays Sheila Richards

Ben's wife Sheila, who works as a hostess at a club.

Lawson already had a big hit this year with Sinners. She played Pearline, the singer who attracts the eye of young Sammie. That means she's also on the Grammy-nominated soundtrack. Lawson's previous credits are just as impressive, including Till, The Woman King, The Batman, and How To Blow Up A Pipeline. She also played a young Michelle Obama in the Showtime series The First Lady and the young wife of Malcolm X, Betty Shabazz, in the fourth season of the anthology series Genius.

IG: @jaymelawson

6

William H. Macy plays Molie Jernigan

While Ben's doing all that running, he runs into some allies. One of those is a friend he already knows he can trust named Molie Jernigan. What a name, right?

Macy is an Award-winning actor you for sure have seen in Fargo, Magnolia, Pleasantville, Seabiscuit, Mr. Holland's Opus, Air Force One, Room, and/or Boogie Nights. Those are some major motion pictures! He's also in the movie Train Dreams out this year. He had a very long arc on ER, and a recurring role on the sitcom Sports Night which starred his wife, Felicity Huffman. You might instead know him best as Frank Gallagher on Shameless. That's valid!

IG: @williamhmacy

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7

Michael Cera plays Elton Parrakis

Speaking of Ben's helpers with names that are kind of out there... this guy! Elton is actively rebelling against this dystopian society.

It helps that Cera is already a friendly face thanks to Arrested Development, Barbie, Nick & Nora's Infinite Playlist, Superbad and one of Wright's most popular films: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World. He has been nominated for a SAG Award on three separate occasions and a Tony Award for the play Lobby Hero in 2018. Cera and Elliot Page actually won one of the most prestigious prizes of all time, the MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss, for Juno back in 2008.

8

Daniel Ezra plays Bradley Throckmorton

Bradley is also a rebel/activist in this bad news universe.

Ezra may star in the CW series All American as a rising American football star, but that's a lie. He's British. Deceit aside (just kidding) he was nominated for an NAACP Image Award. Ezra was also in ten episodes of A Discovery of Witches. Finally, you can stream a production of Shakespeare's Twelfth Night he was in as Sebastian alongside Tamara Lawrance and Phoebe Fox.

IG: @danielezra

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9

Emilia Jones plays Amelia Williams

Amelia is a civilian who Ben takes hostage. Nobody said he was perfect.

Jones starred in the Academy Award winning film CODA as well as the Netflix series Locke & Key. She's done both musicals and plays on the London stage, and released some songs of her own. She recently appeared in the HBO miniseries Task, and before that films like Cat Person and High-Rise. Her first ever roles were on the Nickelodeon series House of Anubis and the blockbuster film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.

IG: @emiliajonesy

10

David Zayas plays Richard Manuel

Manuel is Ben's former boss at the start of the movie.

Zayas is best known for two iconic television shows. He played Angel Batista on Dexter, and various spin-offs/continuations of that serial killer franchise. He was also on the HBO series Oz. He is a Tony-nominated stage actor as well. Zayas is also husband to Lisa Colón-Zayas, who recently-ish won a Emmy for The Bear. (He plays her husband on the show too. So cute!)

IG: @zz_nyc

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11

Katy O'Brian plays Laughlin

Laughlin is one of the other runners in the game.

Actress and former bodybuilder O'Brian has been tearing it up on screen recently. Did you see her in Mission Impossible: The Final Reckoning on the sexy submarine? What about in Twisters, also starring Powell? Catch her in The Mandalorian? Maybe you're a superhero fan and saw her in Black Lightning, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, or on Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.? Finally, and maybe most importantly, did you see her in Loves Lies Bleeding??

IG: @thekatyo

12

Martin Herlihy plays Jansky

Jansky is also another runner in the game.

Herlihy is a member of the comedy group Please Don't Destroy and a writer on Saturday Night Live. You may have seen their shorts over the last few years. The trio also wrote and starred in a Peacock original film titled The Treasure of Foggy Mountain. He also appeared in films like Hubie Halloween and Happy Gilmore 2, which were co-written by his father (and Sandler's frequent collaborator) Tim Herlihy.

IG: @martinmherlihy

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13

Sean Hayes plays Gary Greenbacks

The Running Man isn't the only game show in this world. There's also a show called Spin The Wheel, hosted by Gary here.

You surely know Hayes from Will & Grace. He won an Emmy and four SAG Awards for his portrayal of Jack McFarland. Hayes also appeared in movies like The Cat in the Hat, The Three Stooges, Pieces of April, Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, and The Bucket List. He also guest starred on a ton of sitcoms, including Parks and Recreation, 30 Rock, Scrubs, and Curb Your Enthusiasm.

IG: @seanhayes

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