How Glen Powell Is Bringing Back The Movie Star!

The era of the movie star has all but vanished. It used to be that the name attached to a film would be enough to be a hit. Think George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington, Meg Ryan, Matthew McConaughey, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, etc. This generation of stars are still around, but movies built around a star aren’t as prevalent. It’s hard to tell when the “star vehicle” age was ending, but around the time you could track its end there’s a contrasting rise of superhero blockbusters and streaming. With more accessibility to movies and TV, it's led to a saturation of media that makes it hard for would-be stars to break out the same way the old guard could. However, there is one man who is trying to keep this concept alive. Characterized by his work ethic, film knowledge, and charisma, that man is Glen Powell. 

Glen Powell is a big name now, but before hitting it big, he started by auditioning and not getting most of them. He started with small roles such as Long-fingered Boy in Spy Kids 3: Game Over, The Great Debaters directed by Denzel Washington (who encouraged him to move to L.A.), Trader #1 in The Dark Knight Rises (for which he stated as being grateful director Christopher Nolan took a chance on him), and many other small films. Around 2014-2016, he began getting larger roles, such as in The Expendables 3 where he was surrounded by more Hollywood royalty such as Sylvester Stallone, who gave him career advice. After that film, Glen met director Richard Linklater, who Powell now frequently collaborates with, and starred in his spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some!!. 

“Glen really believes in himself… Not in a cocky way. He’s not afraid to put in the work to achieve whatever he wants. No shortcuts,” Linklater said.

It was after this where he began to receive more notoriety when he appeared in 2016's Hidden Figures, portraying legendary astronaut John Glenn. It was the role that made audiences first sit up and take notice of this fresh, young, charming actor. This then led to Netflix's 2018 romantic comedy Set it Up opposite Zoey Deutch, a great modern rom-com. He has so much charisma and a great screen presence, it’s what made audiences and critics alike fall in love with him and realize that Glen Powell has what it takes to become the next rom-com king. 

Before he could go back to romantic comedies, he landed the plum role of Hangman in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick’. This was a huge breakout role for him as it was one of the biggest films of the year, but he almost didn’t do it. He originally auditioned for Rooster, Miles Teller’s role, but impressed Tom Cruise and the producers so much they enlarged the Hangman role specifically for him. However, Powell didn’t think the role was right for the movie, stating that he would cut him out of the film entirely if he were editing it. Powell understands that, if the movie loses, everyone loses. So, he didn’t want to ruin this film if he or the character were not a great fit. Cruise and Company listened to Powell’s notes on the character. Tom even helped him with his body language in order for audiences to connect with him more. This process led to him befriending movie legend Cruise and Cruise becoming a mentor for Powell. 

Glen soon returned to romantic comedies with 2023's Anyone But You opposite Sydney Sweeney, aand their chemistry, as well as it harkening back to rom-coms of old, made this a sleeper box office hit. A year later saw the release of Hit Man on Netflix, a romantic crime comedy starring Powell and Adria Arjona which he also produced and co-wrote with writer and director Richard Linklater. Hit Man perfectly encapsulates Powell, both on and off-screen. It’s all of his hard work and dedication which brought the film together as well as his charisma and acting skills that make the relationship dynamic and film work -- a film that, if received a wide release, would have surely been a box office smash. Then, 2024 saw the release of Twisters, a sequel to the 1996 classic Twister. Though it’s about the tornadoes, just like the first, it’s mainly about the romance in the eye of the storm. It was a massive success, becoming the best-ever opening for a natural disaster film. With these three films back-to-back-to-back, Glen Powell cemented himself as the new heartthrob of Hollywood, and with Anyone But You and Twisters, a bona fide box office draw.

Glen Powell has worked incredibly hard to get where he is now and shows no signs of slowing down. In an age full of superhero films, legacy sequels, and streaming content, it’s wonderful to see someone like Powell succeed at being a box office draw. Between his dedication to the craft, learning from the best of the best, his charisma and skill, Powell has what it takes to become the next big movie star. You can see Powell next in Chad Powers, a Hulu original created by Powell and Michael Waldron, which premieres on September 3, and his next big-screen outing will be in The Running Man, directed by Edgar Wright and co-starring Colman Domingo, Josh Brolin, and Jayme Lawson, releasing in theatres on November 14.