The Amazing True Story of Netflix’s “Hit Man”Gary Johnson: Who Was He?
Hit Man, directed by Richard Linklater, is now available on Netflix. While viewing the romantic action comedy, you may be wondering if Gary Johnson was a real-life fake contract killer or if Hit Man is based on a genuine story.
Glen Powell, who also co-wrote the screenplay for the film, stars as Gary Johnson, a psychology professor who finds out he has a secret aptitude for being a fake hitman. He plays this role by theatrically mimicking his suspects’ looks, accents, and body language. He begins taking on false identities in order to snare criminals for the local police, but things get complicated when he meets Madison (Adria Arjona), a potential customer.
According to Netflix’s Tudum, Madison plans to hire Johnson to kill her husband, but instead she wins his affection and sets off “a powder keg of deception, delight, and mixed-up identities.” In their conversation, Linklater characterized Hit Man as a film about “identity, self, and passion.”