Glenn Howerton Reveals How Real-Life “BlackBerry” Figure Reacted to His Performance: 'He Had a Blast' (Exclusive)

Glenn Howerton stars with Jay Baruchel in 'BlackBerry,' which traced the rise and fall of the BlackBerry cell phone brand in the 2000s

Glenn Howerton says Jim Balsillie, the former CEO he plays in the movie BlackBerry, is a fan of his performance.

PEOPLE caught up with Howerton, 47, at the 2023 Gotham Awards in New York City Monday, where the actor was nominated for outstanding supporting performance.

In BlackBerry, Howerton stars with Jay Baruchel, who plays BlackBerry cofounder Mike Lazaridis. The film captured the Canadian mobile phone brand's rise in the late 1990s and early 2000s through its downfall as Apple's iPhone instead cornered the market.

Though Howerton says the movie's cast "made a conscious decision not to meet" the real-life figures before filming, he says he did meet Balsillie at the film's premiere in Toronto. "He was wonderful. He had a blast," Howerton says. "He really enjoyed the movie."

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"When I talked to him, we didn't really talk about that aspect of it, but I do know that he's talked to other people about it," Howerton adds, when asked of Balsillie's reaction to how he was portrayed. "I think he felt like maybe in reality he was a little bit more jovial and fun to be around. And my character's a little bit more tyrannical."

Howerton, known for his work on the comedy series It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, portrays Balsillie as an aggressive business executive whose vision for success skyrockets BlackBerry to its highs and dooms it to its eventual failure.

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"I think [Balsillie] probably would argue that he was equal parts scary and also fun and funny," Howerton tells PEOPLE. "But no, he was wonderful. He loved the film. He really enjoyed it. And I think seeing it with an audience made it really come alive for him."

"When he saw that my character, people were actually rooting for him in spite of his bombast, people really rooting for the character, and I think he enjoyed that," he adds.

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Monday's award for outstanding supporting performance went to Charles Melton for May December. On the red carpet, though, Howerton expressed hope that his nomination "leads to more people seeing the film," which debuted back in May.

"I think it's a wonderful movie. Matt Johnson's an incredible director," he says. "Jay Baruchel's performance, he should be nominated tonight. I thought he was amazing. So, yeah, I'm just excited for more to see the film."

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