“The Running Man” may not have set the box office on fire in its opening weekend, but if you’re willing to take a chance, director Edgar Wright and star Glen Powell deliver a thoroughly entertaining sci-fi game of cat and mouse, even if it gets its message muddled here and there. That’s largely thanks to writer Stephen King’s original, prescient novel providing such a strong foundation for the story, and Wright crafting a more loyal adaptation of the book along with co-writer Michael Bacall.
In the movie, Glen Powell is a blue-collar worker named Ben Richards who is desperate to get medicine for his sick toddler daughter. With greedy executives at the all-seeing Network keeping the working class down and seemingly only providing lucrative opportunities for income through dangerous and humiliating game shows touting unimaginable riches, Richards takes a big risk in auditioning for one of their programs. Unfortunately, the one he gets picked for is The Running Man, which sends him on the run with two other contestants while anyone and everyone around the world tries to hunt them down for 30 days. No one has ever survived the game.
While Colman Domingo has the endlessly energetic hosting duties of the game show, playing the boisterous and bombastic Bobby T, who checks in with live updates on the hunted contestants, there’s another part of The Running Man TV show that adds an unsettlingly matter-of-fact presence to the deadly chase. In fact, this person has been part of “Saturday Night Live,” another staple live TV show, for years, and we’re not talking about Please Don’t Destroy comedy trio member Martin Herlihy, who plays one of the other Running Man contestants.
We’re talking about “SNL” Donald Trump impersonator James Austin Johnson. But if you weren’t paying attention, you might have missed him.
James Austin Johnson has the perfect voice for The Running Man’s dystopian game show
James Austin Johnson is best known for his work on “SNL,” where he’s been the man behind a pitch-perfect impression of President Donald Trump ever since joining the series in 2021. Johnson is quite a skilled impressionist, having also portrayed former President Joe Biden, musician Bob Dylan, actor Adam Driver, and more.
But Johnson is also a skilled voiceover artist. On “SNL,” you’ll often hear him narrating commercials or sketches that require a certain kind of narration. He’s also lent his voice to shows like “Tuca & Bertie” and “Aqua Teen Hunger Force,” as well as voicing The Grinch in the 2025 podcast series “Tis the Grinch Holiday Talk Show.” You may have even heard him make a stealthy cameo in “Barry” on HBO.
That’s why he’s the perfect person to lend his voice to The Running Man TV series at the center of Edgar Wright’s movie. Johnson’s voiceover often lays out exposition for the game and explains certain things happening on the show when Bobby T’s energy just isn’t necessary. The comedian’s voice says some sinister, unsettling things in such a normal, almost friendly fashion that it creates the perfect satirical vibe for The Running Man’s dystopian setting.
If you missed it the first time around or are preparing to check out “The Running Man” for the first time, pay close attention and listen out for Johnson’s voice.
“The Running Man” is playing in theaters everywhere now.
