Glen Powell got Arnold Schwarzenegger’s blessing to play the role of Ben Richards in the remake of his 1987 action flick The Running Man.
At a launch event for his new condiment line, Smash Kitchen, Powell revealed that he reached out to Arnold’s son, Patrick, to get him in touch with his dad. He and director Edgar Wright then called up the actor and got his blessing via FaceTime.
“Arnold gave us his blessing,” he told People. “Patrick Schwarzenegger is a great friend of mine, and I asked Patrick if I could talk to Arnold, and I hadn’t seen Arnold since we shot Expendables in Bulgaria.”
“Arnold gave us his full blessing, and we get to give Arnold a very specific fun gift from the movie in a couple of weeks here,” the Twisters star added. “So I’m very excited to see him.”
Based on the Stephen King’s novel, The Running Man depicts a game show where convicted criminals are hunted by professional killers.
Earlier this week, Powell premiered the film’s trailer at Cinemacon alongside Colman Domingo and Josh Brolin. Before showing the trailer, he confessed that making the film was “the hardest thing I’ve done in my life.”
The Running Man, starring Glen Powell, will bow in theaters on November 7.
