Colman Domingo Explains How Jerry Springer Inspired His ‘Running Man’ Character

As those in attendance at last week’s CinemaCon saw, there’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to Edgar Wright’s remake of The Running Man. Starring Glen Powell in the role first held by Arnold Schwarzenegger back in Paul Michael Glaser’s 1987 adaptation of the Stephen King novel, the movie has been building plenty of anticipation. Set in a dystopian future, the story follows a man named Ben Richards (Powell), who agrees to participate in a reality competition survival show that sees him pursued by hunters. Keeping the folks back at home entertained will be Colman Domingo’s Bobby Thompson, who hosts the family-favorite TV show. From the first teaser we saw last week, Domingo’s character is flashy, over-the-top, and downright entertaining — precisely the personality you’d tune into see week in and week out.

During a conversation with The Playlist, Domingo opened up about how he and Wright settled on the wacky and zany personality. Giving credit where credit is due, Domingo points to one of the original big names in the drama-centered game show world — Jerry Springer.

“Edgar [Wright] and I were talking about all the differences of game show hosts and TV hosts, period, of different shows… I remember the documentary [Jerry Springer: Fights, Camera, Action] just landed and I thought, ‘This is interesting.’ Someone who was just a guy with a role, and then he started to take off and started to feed into it as well and sort of bring out the worst in people in many ways. But also felt like he was not complicit at the same time.”

Source: The Playlist