He has charisma, charm and a sense of humor that emanates from the screen almost tangibly. And on top of that, he loves dogs and is not afraid to admit in interviews that he doesn’t know something. If you don’t know him yet, that will change soon, because Glen Powell is having his moment in Hollywood. The film summer of 2024 definitely belongs to him and deservedly so. Glen has been working hard and with persistence worthy of a better cause for years on his success, which didn’t come any sooner because in the meantime Denzel Washington and Tom Cruise have been professional fathers to him.
Glen Powell: Hollywood’s New Star and the Year’s Biggest Hits
It really is enough to watch even one of Glen Powell’s latest films to fall in love with the guy (or at least like him a lot). Witness that after the first scenes with his participation in “Twisters” I was already absolutely “bought” and decided to quickly review the films with his participation available on streaming. The 35-year-old actor from Texas, like a real surfer, caught the right wave and rode it. And in all this he is so sincere, authentic and likeable that it is hard not to root for him. This is a great achievement in times when Hollywood no longer produces such movie stars as years ago.
Of course, there will be grumps who will complain that in a little while Glen Powell will be jumping out of the fridge, and the media is now forcing him to be promoted. But that just means that they simply haven’t seen him in action. Ticket sales figures don’t lie: people want to see him because he stars in films they like. To avoid looking far for evidence, let’s say that his latest disaster film, “Twisters,” became a real summer hit and earned $146 million worldwide in the first days after its premiere. In the States alone, the title exceeded the expected profit limit on the opening weekend, raking in $80 million and extremely favorable reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes, the production received 76 percent positive reviews from reviewers, and 92 percent from the audience. This is an excellent result considering how much the first “Twister” is loved in the US, and how often even sequels loosely related to the originals fail to meet the expectations of viewers.
The earlier romantic comedy “Not You,” in which Powell played the lead role alongside Sydney Sweeney, known for “Euphoria,” was not much less successful. They both insisted on showing the film first in theaters and only then on streaming platforms, although theoretically the glory days of this genre ended years ago. They were right, because the production earned over $216 million in theaters, effectively proving that viewers still like to watch romantic comedies on the big screen.
The action comedy “Hit Man” also received a warm reception from critics at the Venice Film Festival, in which Powell not only played the lead role but also wrote the script with director Richard Linklater. The film has a 95% positive rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and a 91% from viewers. Netflix has pounds to add the film to its library (unfortunately, it is not yet available in Poland).
Glen Powell always wanted to be a movie star
These are just three of his latest productions, and we can’t forget that Glen starred in the latest “Top Gun: Maverick”, which many believe saved cinemas after the pandemic. Powell plays the pilot nicknamed “Hangman” there, although he originally auditioned for the role of Rooster, the son of the main character’s best friend, who died tragically in the first part.
Powell didn’t get the role he wanted, but Tom Cruise liked him so much that he offered him “Hangman”, which the youngster didn’t particularly like in the script. He wanted to refuse, but Cruise decided to take him under his wing and mentor him. That’s how he convinced Glen that first you choose good projects, and then you take roles, which you then polish and make memorable for the audience. And then he taught him how to fly fighters and initiated him into his theories about the film industry and acting. This is significant because Cruise is an idol to Glen. Powell doesn’t hide the fact that he dreams of a career as a movie star. Just like Tom’s.
Paradoxically, however, it is not “Top Gun” that is considered a breakthrough production for Powell, but the comedy “Not You,” writes Lacey Rose from . It was this comedy that showed studio executives that Glen had the charisma of a lover, as well as the power to attract viewers to cinemas.
Glen Powell as ‘Hangman’ in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ Photo Scott Garfield / United International Pictures Ltd. / Scott Garfield
15 years of climbing to the top
Glen Powell began his acting career in 2003 in the film “Spy Kids 3-D: The 3-D Takeoff”, where he also played the role of “the boy with the long fingers”. He liked it so much that he continued to audition, although from the very beginning he was rather unlucky and did not get the roles he liked the most. For example, he tried several times to get into the cast of the series “Friday Night Lights”, but he was always rejected. He was persistent. In 2006, he met director Richard Linklater for the first time on the set, with whom he played in “Fast Food Nation”, which, as we know, resulted years later in their joint “Hit Man” or the comedy “Everybody Wants It!!” from 2016. But it was in 2007 that the breakthrough came: Glen got a role in “The Debate Club” with Denzel Washington in the leading role. Powell came to the first reading rehearsal dressed in a tailcoat, which effectively caught the attention of the popular actor.
In fact, the impression was so good that Washington recommended Glen to his agent, the legendary Ed Limato, who had dealt with such celebrities as Ava Gardner, Marlon Brando, Meryl Streep, Winona Ryder, Anthony Hopkins and Goldie Hawn. It was on the advice of the experienced veteran that Powell dropped out of college and went to Hollywood to pursue a career. It looked promising, but unfortunately Limato died after two years and his agency got rid of the young actor, leaving him to his own devices.
‘Hit Man’ Photo: Brian Roedel / Kino Świat
He was unlucky, because the “Twilight” era had just begun in Hollywood and actors like Robert Pattinson were all the rage. There were few and far between for athletic, homegrown guys from Texas, but as we know, nothing can last forever. After the premiere of the first “Guardians of the Galaxy,” it turned out that everyone suddenly loved Chris Pratt – a joker, a boy-next-door type who, instead of looking long and hard into the eyes of his beloved, would rather say something stupid and awkward.
Glen never gave up, and in the meantime he got a cameo in the 2012 film “The Dark Knight Rises”, where he played a stockbroker whose skull is crushed by Bane. He also appeared in the comedy “Sex According to Ed” and became a hacker in “The Expendables 3”. In 2016, he was cast in the Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures” (here, let’s remember the code word “capybara”, we’ll come back to it later), and he also appeared in “The Truth” with Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino. A role in Ryan Murphy’s series “Scream Queens” was also a good move, because it gave him more recognition. In 2018, Powell finally got the main role in the comedy “Matchmaking with Your Bosses”, which unexpectedly became a viral hit thanks to Netflix users.
Glen Powell looks like a capybara? via Reddit
Even then, it was said that the good old romantic comedy in the spirit of the 90s had finally made its comeback, and Glen became its face, in a way. The actor soon teamed up with director Mike Newell (he’s the one behind the cult film “Four Weddings and a Funeral”) to star in the melodrama “The Society of Literature Lovers and Potato Peel Pie”. Then, due to the pandemic, there was a downtime in the industry, but Powell returned to acting with a bang – after “Brothers in Arms”, viewers saw him in the new “Top Gun”.
Glen Powell looks like a capybara
It is also important that viewers like to watch Glen not only on the screen. The actor has won the favor of the people and internet users with his personality. Firstly, many years of effort and struggle to develop his career have taught him humility, which can be heard in his interviews. Secondly, the boy has a passion for cinema, a sense of humor, and on top of that he seems to be an extremely nice guy. He is currently trying to finish his studies, which he interrupted years ago, which he explains in interviews by saying that it is something that his mother simply cares about.
His social media photos are a mix of behind-the-scenes footage from film sets, a look at high-profile covers, lots of family photos, and most importantly, an adorable little dog named Brisket. Powell adopted him while filming Twisters because, as he said, he was going through a breakup with his partner and always wanted a dog. “It’s something I’ve been thinking about a lot. I was in a coffee shop in Enid one day, and I don’t know how to describe it, but I suddenly felt this huge urge to be a father,” he told Entertainment Weekly.
That’s how Brisket came into the actor’s life, and he takes him with him everywhere he goes. The dog appears with his canine father at film premieres, magazine covers and gives interviews with him. Powell himself laughs that he walks around with Brisket in a bag like Paris Hilton, and everyone is absolutely delighted. There’s something disarming about the fact that the athletic lanky guy (1.87 tall) doesn’t hide his love for the small, adorable mutt.
Besides, Glen Powell already has his own meme. People think he looks like a capybara. And it’s all because of a photo from the premiere of the previously mentioned film “Hidden Figures”. Powell had a very small role in it. Small enough that he didn’t get an invitation to the premiere in New York, but he was so excited about the project that he kind of invited himself in. He got himself a tuxedo and make-up, told the organizers that oh, he’ll be in town, so maybe he’ll come. He smiled brightly there, maybe too much.
Glen Powell’s Wikipedia profile photo via Wikipedia
The now famous photo of him was taken on the red carpet, which ended up on the web (and on the actor’s official Wikipedia profile) – there, someone said that Powell looked like a capybara that wanted to become a human, and put two photos together to prove it. It caught on like hell. The capybara clung to Powell so tightly that the actor started laughing in interviews that he did a nude photoshoot just so the internet would forget about that photo. Well, that capybara can’t be unseen now.
Note, Glen Powell has Polish roots. If you believe , his paternal grandmother is named Lillian Dziuba and was born in New Jersey to Polish immigrants. Their names were Józef Dziuba and Zofia Maciąg, and they came to the US from Zielonka near Warsaw. There must be something to it, because the Polish influence in Glen’s family home is obvious. Or would the actor have written about his father that “no one loved their family or pierogi more.”
PS On Netflix, you can watch “Matchmaking with Your Bosses” and “The Society of Literature and Potato Peel Pie Lovers” with Glen Powell. Canal+ Online, in turn, has in its offer the film “Brothers in Arms” from 2022, in which Glen appears in one of the main roles. The comedy “Only Not You” can be rented in Polish on Prime Video, Player.pl and Apple TV. If someone still can’t get enough of Glen, let us add that “Top Gun: Maverick” is available for rent on Player and Apple TV. The series “Scream Queens” with his guest appearance is available on Apple TV and Disney +. “The Appearance of Truth”, in which Glen Powell starred alongside Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino, among others, can be rented on Prime Video and Apple TV. Although he has a much more background role in “Hidden Figures”, determined viewers can watch him on Disney+ or rent him on Player.pl, Apple TV or Prime Video. The 2014 comedy “Sex According to Ed” with his participation can be found in the Polish language version on Canal + Online and Rakuten TV (for free!). Have fun.
Source: Gazeta
Bruce is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment . He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established himself as a respected voice in the industry.
