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Brolin plays TV exec Dan Killian, or as costar Glen Powell puts it, a &34;deliciously evil son of a bitch,&34; in the dystopian thriller. Josh Brolin went to Gl

Brolin plays TV exec Dan Killian, or as costar Glen Powell puts it, a "deliciously evil son of a bitch," in the dystopian thriller.

Josh Brolin went to Glenn Close's 'tooth guy' to get his Running Man villain's fake teeth

Brolin plays TV exec Dan Killian, or as costar Glen Powell puts it, a "deliciously evil son of a bitch," in the dystopian thriller.

By Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff

Lauren Huff is an award-winning journalist and staff writer at ** with over 12 years of experience covering all facets of the entertainment industry.

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October 10, 2025 9:00 a.m. ET

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Josh Brolin as Dan Killian in 'The Running Man'. Credit:

Paramount Pictures

Josh Brolin had everything in his arsenal to play his evil TV producer character in *The Running Man* except one thing: the perfect teeth.

"Dentists have always wanted to whiten my teeth," he tells ** for our latest cover story on the upcoming dystopian thriller film (in theaters Nov. 14). "And I go, *No, it would ruin my career if you whiten my teeth* — I've built my career on yellow teeth."

While that's been great for a majority of his roles, Brolin didn't think it fit with his image of this character. "This guy, Dan Killian, is an executive producer, and the executive producers that I know, especially game show executives, they all have perfect, doctor teeth," Brolin explains. "You know what I mean? And they look super weird to me personally, but I was like, what a great opportunity."

On the set of a different upcoming Brolin film, *Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery*, the star says he bonded with costar Glenn Close over their shared love of "the lost art of prosthetics," and it's thanks to Close that he found the perfect set of chompers for *The Running Man*.

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"I think I did it more early on [in my career], really wanted to hide behind stuff or utilize prosthetics and all that," Brolin explains. "I love all that stuff. I think it's great. And Glenn was like, 'Oh my God, I have the greatest tooth guy.' And I was like, I want to meet this guy, and I did, and it was kind of perfect."

Brolin continues, "They worked great. I think they look great when I smile. It's just off enough where you go like, *That guy's got super white teeth. Okay, that makes sense*."

Based on the novel by Stephen King under the pseudonym Richard Bachman, the film is a dystopian thriller that follows Ben Richards (Glen Powell), an unemployed father desperate to get money for his sick infant daughter's treatment. To make some quick cash, he finds himself joining the murderous game show *The Running Man*, in which contestants are tasked with surviving for as long as they can in a near-future America where anyone — including hunters hired by the Killian-run network — is allowed to kill them.

Glen Powell as Ben Richards and Josh Brolin as Dan Killian in 'The Running Man'.

Ross Ferguson/Paramount

Powell describes Brolin's take on the character as a "deliciously evil son of a bitch," a description that he doesn't disagree with. "There you go. Who better than me, right? I mean, you start to get a complex after a while," Brolin jokes, referring to his penchant for playing baddies. But, he feels his take on Killian can best be summed up as: "When he talks, you want to believe that this guy has found his throne and truly believes that he can't be knocked off it."

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No matter the role, though, Brolin says he always has to ask himself, "Do I feel happy about taking this part? Because is it smart?"

The verdict? "It's *very* smart. I don't think it's just smart — but I also think it is thoroughly entertaining," he says. "It's such a brilliant commentary on power and greed and social media, media, the manipulative qualities of AI, and all that kind of stuff — everything we're being fed, and how it's like a drug. It's so smart in its commentary of it, and it is super entertaining in order to convey it."

*The Running Man*, which also stars Colman Domingo, Lee Pace, William H. Macy, Michael Cera, and Emilia Jones, sprints into theaters Nov. 14.**

Original Article on Source

Source: "AOL Movies"

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