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Interview: Lee Pace Talks ‘The Running Man,’ the Joys of Playing a Villain, and Going Toe to Toe with Glen Powell
November 13, 2025Ben MK
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Perhaps best known for his role as the villainous Ronan the Accuser in Guardians of the Galaxy, Lee Pace has played his fair share of antagonists. Whether it's a fanatical Kree warlord hellbent on destroying the Nova empire in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, a ruthless galactic emperor in Foundation, or a morally conflicted ElvenKing in The Hobbit trilogy, Pace's characters have run the gamut from downright wicked to simply misguided. Yet, no matter what shades of grey his performances fall under, one thing's for certain — the 46-year-old actor has always delivered a memorable portrayal. It's a key quality that director Edgar Wright is also banking on, as he has Pace squarely back in villain mode opposite Glen Powell for his new film, an action-packed adaptation of Stephen King's The Running Man. But what sets Pace's latest bad guy role apart from his previous antagonists? And how does this iteration of The Running Man differ from the 1987 original? I caught up with Lee Pace to chat about The Running Man, to find out what it was like working with Edgar Wright and Glen Powell, and to get the scoop on what fans of Robert Kirkman's Invincible can expect from his upcoming voice role as the villainous Thragg, in season four of the hit series. You've played quite a few memorable roles over the years, but one of your most memorable roles was playing the villain, Ronan the Accuser, in Guardians of the Galaxy. What was it about playing Evan McCone in The Running Man that made you want to get back into big-screen villain mode? Pace: It's fun to play a bad guy. I mean, you get to behave in a way that you don't get to behave in your real life. So, I have a good time with it. And also, from the first conversation I had with Edgar Wright, he suggested, "What do you think about a mask? Do you think this guy could wear a mask and completely cover his face?" And I was like, "You've come to the right person. I'm into that. I like that." It's a fun challenge to play a character that wants to hide, or wants to conceal his face and what he's doing. And that was similar to Ronan. The effect of walking onto set with your face covered up, and with looking in this extraordinary way — the crew is like, "Oh no." [laughs] And it gives you your character. You kind of feel him, you know? 
Speaking of Edgar Wright, I imagine working with him was another draw here. First of all, this new version is much more faithful to Stephen King's original source material than the 1987 version. And second of all, he's going to put his own distinctive spin on everything. What was it like working with him?Pace: Edgar Wright is the reason I wanted to do this film. I am such a huge fan of his. He always takes you on a fun ride. And he said that The Running Man, the novel, was something that he has thought about for years and wanted to bring to the big screen. And he did it. I mean, this is like a movie movie movie. It really gives a lot. And I just had the best time working with it. I had the best time working with Glen Powell. I mean, talk about someone who just brings 1000% to this character that has a lot of fight in him, a lot of heart. And he takes you on this ride through the film — this hostile world where everyone wants him dead — and you just believe in him. You think that this guy is gonna figure it out; he's gonna solve it, you know? Was there a scene in The Running Man that was your favorite, or one that was most memorable to work on? Pace: I love doing a fight scene. And I get to do some good fights in this movie. And what I love about a fight scene is that you rehearse and rehearse, you do the thing a 1000 times to get the choreography right, but when you get on set you wanna forget about it and just play the scene. You wanna play the character's aggression. And matched up with Glen, who is also there to give it 1000%, I mean, it was thrilling. We knew while we were shooting it that no one's gonna be looking at the choreography here. What they're gonna look at is two characters fighting for their life. They're matched — someone's gonna get out alive and someone's gonna die, and you don't know who. So, I definitely went home covered in bruises, but it was worth it. 
Last but not least, it was recently announced at this year's New York Comic Con that you'll be voicing Thragg in the new season of Robert Kirkman's Invincible, which is another big villain role for you. Can you tell us a bit about what fans of that show can expect?Pace: This is the first time I've done a voice role like that. So, I began just kind of wanting to show Kirkman and the rest of the team lots of different options, so they could cut it together and do what they need with the animation. Because they record us and then they do the animation, and then they come back and clean it up however they need, add stuff and whatnot. So, I've just recently been able to see the character, and see what my voice does in the character, and see what Robert Kirkman enjoys with the character. I'm excited to keep going and playing him. The character's so layered and complicated. And I think we're just getting started. |
The Running Man is in theaters November 14th.
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