The Running Man’s Colman Domingo says Jerry Springer inspired his villainous game show host

Colman Domingo’s villain in The Running Man was inspired by “old-school talk show” hosts like Jerry Springer.

The 55-year-old actor stars in director Edgar Wright’s 2025 thriller as Bobby T - the presenter of The Running Man TV show that sees contestants compete to become billionaires by surviving a global hunt carried out by skilled assassins - and Domingo has now revealed he had pulled from chat show hosts like Springer for the character.

During an interview with GamesRadar+, he said: “I started to look at old-school talk shows and chat shows like Ricki Lake and Jerry Springer and all that.

“Where we've gotten to with the way that we are with people is because of these talk shows that changed the game. Jerry Springer changed the game, and the way people actually deal with each other – the lack of civility that people have.

“So I really leaned into Jerry Springer because I thought that was interesting. He was just bringing people on to fight, and saying, ‘Oh, well, I had nothing to do with it, I just asked the questions.’ People go to their id.”

As well as the Wicked: For Good star, Lee Pace - who plays the lead Hunter Evan McCone - also reflected on his antagonist, calling him “a violent person” who is “performatively violent”.

The 46-year-old actor added: “Dangerous people don't actually show you their gun, and it's the last thing you would do if you're trying to be really dangerous. But he's trying to project a certain kind of violent machismo.”

Pace said The Running Man TV show was a reflection of the current entertainment industry due to its need to put on a good show, no matter the cost.

He explained: “It makes me uncomfortable to think that we're just so complacent with violence and hostility around us and that we find it entertaining.

“I think it makes people feel strong to watch violence being directed at someone else, it makes you feel like, well, that's not me.

“And I think with our characters, we're people who are on the other side of that, and we're creating an entertainment in the fiction of the show where people get to enjoy being on our side of the violence. We're the good guys. Ben Richards is the bad guy in the surreality of the reality show.”

The Running Man - which is an adaption of Stephen King's 1982 novel of the same name - is set in a dystopian future where the poor are hunted for sport on live TV, and sees desperate contestant Ben Richards (Glen Powell) enter The Running Man game to earn money for his sick daughter.

However, as the odds stack against him, Ben discovers survival means turning the game against its creators.

The Running Man also stars Emilia Jones, Michael Cera, Katy O’Brian, Jayme Lawson and Josh Brolin.

Powell recently said The Running Man would leave audiences “thinking” about the dark side of reality TV and the entertainment industry.

The Top Gun: Maverick star, 37, told HeyUGuys.com: “When you take on a story that is this epic and also, this timely, there's a lot to pull from.

“Not only is Ben Richards fighting for his family which I can understand. I'm very close to my family, I'd do anything for them.

“I also think just the commentary of reality TV sort of the TikTok-ification of our world and how we engage with the news and fact and fiction and all of those things, there's just a lot to play with.

“Very few action movies leave you thinking and I think this one really does.”