The outlandish true story behind new Netflix thriller Hit Man

The story behind the new Netflix thriller Hit Man, in which Glen Powell plays the titular killer for hire, is a fascinating one. What if the guy you just hired to kill someone is secretly working for the cops?

Kudos to whoever came up with that idea, right? But actually, director Richard Linklater and Powell — who share credit for writing the script — didn't invent the bizarre concept on their own. In fact, it's based on reality.

Hit Man was inspired by a 2001 article of the same name, written by Texas Monthly journalist Skip Hollandsworth. He actually has some history with Linklater, having co-written the 2011 black comedy film Bernie with the director — based on another of his Texas Monthly pieces.

Linklater, having worked with Hollandsworth before, already knew about the story. But when he got a call from Powell about it during the pandemic — they'd worked together on Everybody Wants Some!! — the film as we know it really began to take shape.

What is the Hit Man true story?

In both the fictional and real worlds, Hit Man tells the story of Gary Johnson, who passed away in 2022. To most people who met the real Johnson, he was a fairly quiet and unassuming college professor. But to the Houston police department, he was one of their most useful assets — a chameleonic actor who could slip into various contract killer personas in order to ensnare crooks planning to have people bumped off.

In Hollandsworth's article, Johnson was described as "the Laurence Olivier of the field". His job was delicate, but actually quite simple. If the authorities found out someone wanted to order a hit, they'd arrange for one of Johnson's killer characters to meet with the person.

He'd be wearing a recording device and he had to keep the client talking until they clearly confessed to what they were planning for Johnson to do.

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As Johnson himself explained in the article, he believed his job was to "assist people in their communication skills". He added: “That’s all my job is — to help people open up, to get them to say what they really want, to reveal to me their deepest desires.”

Throughout the 1990s and in the run-up to the article, Johnson was "hired" to kill more than 60 people and helped to put many of those responsible for ordering the crimes behind bars.

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Bizarrely, even as his exploits and identities began to be reported on by excited news outlets, his ability to work undercover remained in place — a mark of his talents. But he knew the career had a shelf life as his celebrity status grew.

How does the Hit Man movie change the true story?

Hit Man is loosely based on the final case mentioned in Hollandsworth's article. Johnson was tasked with intervening in the case of a young woman who had confided to a Starbucks worker that the only way to escape her abusive boyfriend was to have him killed.

The real-life Johnson decided not to set up his usual sting operation and instead supported her to access the therapy she needed, as well as getting a spot in a women's shelter to escape the abuse.

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Inevitably, the movie introduces a dose of Hollywood to the story by turning this case into that of Maddy (Adria Arjona). When the fictional Johnson tries to support her in her troubles, their bond turns into a romantic relationship.

Watch: Trailer for Hit Man

There's no evidence the real Johnson ever pursued anything romantic with the people he met while in character, though the article does reveal that a 61-year-old client once suggested she and Johnson could "perform a certain sex act on the hood of her Cadillac". He didn't go ahead with it.

So while the central case in Hit Man takes liberties with the real story, the chaos and heightened world of the overall concept is ripped straight from the headlines. It tells the tale of a man with one of the most unique jobs in history.

Hit Man is available to stream on Netflix now.