I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Glen during his day at Cinema Con 2022 yesterday in Las Vegas. He started the day with the screening of Top Gun: Maverick followed by a Q&A. Then he attended the Big Screen Achievement Awards 2022 where he received the Star of Tomorrow award.
I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Glen & his partner Gigi Paris attending Heineken House reception in Coachella Valley Music And Arts Festival.
As the world waits with bated breath for “Top Gun: Maverick” we chat with Glen Powell about being part of this cinematic masterpiece and delve into his past and previous works. Glen Powell is about to The original “Top Gun” was groundbreaking calls me over to his trailer with my mom ride into the danger zone as “Top Gun: Maverick” finally has a theatrical release date. In this highly- anticipated sequel to the 1986 blockbuster “Top Gun,” Powell plays as “Hangman,” one of the naval aviators set to take to the skies together with Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” in what is expected to be one of the most celebrated flicks of the year—if not the decade. Of course, Powell has several other upcoming titles that he’s happy to share with us, along with some unique insight into his profession in what is arguably one of our most engrossing interviews in a long time.
DAMAN: Hi Glen, thank you for having us and hope you’re doing great. So, what keeps you busy these days?
Glen Powell: As you know, Hollywood will kick you out the door as soon as you let it, so I’m spending a lot of time developing my own material so that I can build the career and make the movies that got me into this business in the first place. Learning from my heroes like Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner and Robert Redford: They didn’t rely on luck; they created their own luck. Hollywood may still kick me out, but at least I’m doing my part.DA: Last we checked, “Top Gun: Maverick” is set to premiere at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in May. How excited are you that the movie is finally being released?
GP: I think I would probably be a lot less upset every time the movie got pushed if “Top Gun: Maverick” wasn’t so damn good. This movie is like keeping the greatest secret of all time. It’s truly like nothing you have ever seen before. And I can’t wait to finally unleash it on the world. And think after this pandemic that everyone on this planet has gone through, we appreciate the theatrical experience more than ever. And my God this is going to rock every theater in the world.
DA: All in all, what can audiences expect from this movie when it comes out? Especially moviegoers who grew up with the original “Top Gun”…
GP: It is so rare that a movie like this comes along. A movie that is massive and still emotional. One that is adventurous and romantic. One that delivers you jaw- dropping spectacle but also will make you cry. This movie is why you make movies. for its time and turned Tom Cruise into a household name. This movie is over 30 years of Tom Cruise operating at the highest level of Hollywood leading men and taking all of that experience and putting it in one film. He said he would never make a sequel to “Top Gun” unless he could beat it. I am a huge fan of the original, but I think we beat it.
DA: Speaking of which, what is your impression of the 1986 original? And then, how would you describe the connection between “Top Gun” and “Top Gun: Maverick”?
GP: The original “Top Gun” is one of the reasons that I became an actor in the first place. It is really hard to watch that movie and not want to be a movie star or a fighter pilot. Tom Cruise set off a lot of young people on the path to both. The best part is we are not trying to reboot “Top Gun.” We are not trying to re-create the story of the first movie—you just can’t do it. This is a sequel following Maverick’s journey all these years later. He’s still completely a maverick and having to learn that he can’t go fast forever at some point even the greatest pilots have to land. [More at Source]
I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Glen attending the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party.
Whether piloting jets or landing on the moon, Glen Powell is unabashedly soaring to new heights. Continuing his supersonic streak, Powell gears up for his long-awaited blockbuster—Top Gun: Maverick. “It’s the greatest version of icing the kicker… ever,” jokes actor Glen Powell reflecting on the twice-delayed debut of the highly anticipated Top Gun: Maverick. Having completed filming in 2019, the release of the epic undertaking from Paramount Pictures was put on hold due to the pandemic. Without batting an eye, Powell promises that the film, which is now set to hit theaters May 27, will be well worth the wait. “This movie delivers on every level. It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen. It’s a true testament to why movies are made.”
Originally from Austin, the charismatic Powell studied at the University of Texas at Austin at the Department of Radio, Television and Film. Cultivating his craft from an early age, Powell first sank his teeth in the biz with smaller roles on television and in films. It wasn’t long, however, before he started making a name for himself on the scene. He secured a part in the Denzel Washington-directed movie The Great Debaters, which Powell credits as the role that gave him the confidence to know his childhood dream would in fact turn into a tangible career path. From there, it was game on.
Spanning from The Expendables 3 to Hidden Figures, Powell has shared the spotlight with some of the most iconic names in the industry—Sylvester Stallone, Wesley Snipes, Octavia Spencer, Kevin Costner—need we say more? He has certainly found himself on the ride of a lifetime. When asked what has really struck a chord throughout his experience thus far, the charmer notes, “Kevin Costner really took me under his wing while we were filming Hidden Figures, where he shared something that has stuck with me. He [said], ‘As an actor, you have a beautiful responsibility for putting stories out in the world.’” From that point on, I started to look at and read scripts differently, making sure I would be proud of the ideas that these films represent. I just try and be really deliberate about my choices.” [More at Source]
Name: Glen Powell
SXSW project: Richard Linklater’s “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood”
Notable past credits: “Hidden Figures” and “Scream Queens”
On getting to play Austin tour guide: “This festival has been in my backyard my entire life. As Austin evolves, grows and changes, it’s still fun to show Austin to people who haven’t been, and so I get to see it for the first time through other people’s eyes.”
What he loves about SXSW: “People root for each other here in a different way than any other festival,” he says. “When you premiere something at South By, it’s rowdy. It’s fun. It’s film lovers who are unashamed of loving movies and clapping for each other and cheering for each other.”
Powell, who grew up in Austin, stars in fellow Texas native Linklater’s animated feature “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood.” The movie, which was filmed live at Austin Studios on a green screen later animated using a rotoscoping style, was inspired by a childhood dream.
“When he was in second grade, [Linklater] had this dream that he was a part of the Apollo mission and sent into space,” Powell says. “And so he mixes real-life footage and real moments from the Apollo mission with the dream of a second grader going to the moon.”
Powell is excited to share the film, which will be released by Netflix, both with adults who grew up during the space-race era as well as kids. “Hopefully kids watch this movie and go, ‘Wow.’ What we can do with the power of brain. Not the power of celebrity, not the power of TikTok, not the power of fame or followers or any of that stuff, but the power of mind.”
The actor plays a NASA agent in the film, who recruits a 10-year-old boy for a space mission after building the capsule too small to fit an adult. “[My character] has to get saved by a kid,” says Powell, adding that he’s excited to be part of a legacy of movies in which the kids get to be the hero, despite being surrounded by adults. “I feel like that’s such a magical thing for kids to see on screen,” he adds. [More at Source]
Glen made the round in SXSW in Austin the last few days to promote his upcoming Netflix movie “Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood” with director Richard Linklater. You can check the panel video below then make sure to head to the gallery for a beautiful set of new photos of Glen.
I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Glen attending New York Moves’ 2021 Power Women Gala.
I’ve updated the gallery with photos of Glen attending the 2021 Guggenheim International Gala with his partner Gigi Paris.
Three years ago Tom Cruise set out to cast a new generation of magnetic, and chiseled, pilots for Top Gun: Maverick, the highly anticipated sequel scheduled to land on Memorial Day weekend next year. After scouring young Hollywood, he found his squad: Glen Powell, Jay Ellis, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Monica Barbaro (playing the first female pilot featured in the franchise), and Miles Teller.
Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski wanted real stunts with cameras capturing actual flight patterns, so the star curated the training he wished he’d had back in 1986. “In anyone else’s hands, Top Gun is a CGI movie,” says Powell. “Only Tom puts real actors in real planes.” The aircraft were flown by pilots, but the cast were in the cockpit for such long, intense stretches that sometimes they had to do what they had to do: “I peed in the plane a few times,” says Ellis. “I peed in the plane almost every time,” says Pullman. The actors trained for three months in a progression of aircraft, then did maintenance flights for g-force tolerance. “Tom would go first,” says Ellis. “And then we’d have to go up there and try to keep up with what he just did.”
Fans of the original Top Gun’s immortal beach volleyball scene will be relieved to hear that our new heroes find time to play shirtless football on the sand. The younger actors worked out and skipped carbs for months to prep—and did some last-second moisturizing so their muscles would glisten. “I was eventually cut off from the baby oil,” says Powell. After sunset, the cast celebrated with wings, tater tots, and beer, but later learned they had to shoot the scene again. “We were devastated,” Ellis says with a laugh.
Moviegoers everywhere will thank them for their service. [Source]