Biography of Glen Powell
Glen Powell is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer best known for his roles as Thorn in the action-adventure "The Expendables 3," Chad Radwell in the horror series "Scream Queens," and Tom Hudner in the war drama "Devotion."In one of his early roles as a Harvard debater in Denzel Washington's film "The Great Debaters," he caught the attention of legendary Hollywood agent Ed Limato, who advised the aspiring actor to move to Los Angeles—and his career took off from there.
Childhood and Family
Glen Thomas Powell Jr. was born in fall 1988 to Glen and Cyndy Powell in Austin, Texas. He has two sisters: older sister Lauren (1986) and younger sister Leslie (1992). His father worked as an executive coach while his mother was a homemaker.On his mother's side, Glen has English, German, and Welsh ancestry. On his father's side, his family tree traces back to the Lipka Tatars—Polish-Lithuanian Tatars. Glen's great-grandfather, Samuel Chatzki, immigrated to the United States with his parents, Mustafa Chatzki and Minnie Radlinski, who had previously lived in the Lipka Tatar community in Belarus. Samuel was a furrier, and Glen's grandfather followed in his footsteps.
At Westwood High School, Glen played football and lacrosse. As a teenager, though, he managed to audition for the sci-fi film "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (2003).
Though his role as a long-fingered boy was small, he acted alongside Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, and Sylvester Stallone. From that moment, he decided to become an actor and kept attending auditions, taking on minor roles.
In 2007, Powell enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. Before then, he appeared in Denzel Washington's directorial project "The Great Debaters." On set, he met Washington's agent, Ed Limato, who advised him to move to Los Angeles:
Ed was the one who told me I was good enough to swim in the biggest pond and convinced me to move from Austin to Los Angeles. After Ed passed away in 2010, I wandered the city for a couple of years, struggling for work. It was unforgiving, a very harsh city, though it gave me the chance to write and produce. One day, an agent named Joey Stanton called me. He had the same fire, charisma, heart, and fearlessness that made Ed Limato a legend. This partnership completely changed my career.
Acting Career
Without an agent, Powell spent years grinding through small supporting roles in TV series and movies like "NCIS", "Best Friends Forever", and "Barrio Tales". In Christopher Nolan's superhero action film "The Dark Knight Rises", he played a minor role as a trader.In 2013, Powell landed his first leading role in the thriller "Wind Walkers", followed by a part in the action film "The Expendables 3". Sylvester Stallone helped him get the part (Glen is a huge fan of the action star and "The Expendables" franchise). In a letter to Stallone, Powell shared a wild childhood story from growing up in Austin:
In the film, Powell played Thorn, a combat veteran, skilled hacker, and drone pilot. He described his character as, "Thorn doesn't get along well with others. He's a genius and an adrenaline junkie with too much free time."...I wanted this role more than anything. But almost every young actor in Hollywood feels the same way. So I wrote to Stallone, telling him why I was the only candidate for the role. I told him that in Texas, I grew up with a shooting range in the basement, learned to fight from my uncles who lived and breathed mixed martial arts, and spent much of my childhood finding new and creative ways to cheat death. I had been preparing for this role my whole life. I promised Sly I would go into the trenches with him if he went with me.
In 2015, Glen appeared in two seasons of the horror series "Scream Queens", starring alongside Emma Roberts, Lea Michele, and Jamie Lee Curtis. The project received nominations for various film awards, including the Golden Globe.
The actor landed a leading role in the romantic comedy "Set It Up", where he and Zoey Deutch played assistants to demanding bosses who they decide to set up with each other.
In the historical drama "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society", Glen played Mark Reynolds, the fiancé of the main character.
For his role as NASA astronaut John Glenn in the biographical drama "Hidden Figures", the actor received the Satellite Award and the Screen Actors Guild Award.
For Powell, 2022 was a breakout year with the release of the action blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick" (Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin) and the biographical drama "Devotion" (Tom Hudner). He talked about the latter film in one interview:
While "Devotion" didn't match the global box office dominance of "Top Gun" starring Tom Cruise, it proved to be a challenging and rewarding project for Powell. The actor met with the real-life prototype of his character, a US Navy fighter pilot who fought in Korea.It's an unusual film. You have an incredible story in your hands, and it's hard to fit it into a short synopsis. Because it's not just the story of Jesse Brown, the first African-American naval aviator, but also the story of how Tom Hudner tried to save Jesse Brown, and the story of the pilots of the 32nd Squadron, the story of a forgotten war. It's a very multifaceted story, and I think it's hard to describe because it's a war film that turns out to be a love story. Ultimately, it answers the question: what does it mean to be a wingman, and what are you willing to do for your comrade?
Glen Powell's Personal Life
The actor has never been shy about his romantic life. In January 2017, tabloids went wild over rumors of a romance with actress Nina Dobrev, and by July, Twitter was buzzing with their cozy photobooth pics—which neither actor bothered to deny.By November, the romance had fizzled out, though they stayed friends—Nina was even spotted hanging out with Glenn and her new boyfriend at the 2022 Omega Masters tournament.
Glenn then had a brief relationship with Australian TV host Renee Bargh before moving on to model Gigi Paris in early 2020.
Following the filming of rom-com "Anyone But You," speculation swirled about a romance with co-star Sydney Sweeney—though both stars shut down the rumors. Glenn described the Sydney romance rumors as "disorienting and unfair," explaining: "When people started discussing it publicly, it felt disorienting and unfair. But I understand that now it's just part of the show."
Sydney herself said in an interview that she and Glenn only share a working and friendly relationship:
It's a romantic comedy. It's what people want! Glenn and I don't really care what people say. It's fun to support such rumors. We have so much fun together, and we respect each other a lot. And we're both hardworking.
Glen Powell Now
Early 2024 brought news that "Top Gun 3" will start filming in 2026, with Glen returning as Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin.Following "Anyone But You's" premiere, Powell opened up about filming the disaster flick "Twisters" in a recent interview. The original plan for a direct sequel to the 1996 Helen Hunt film was scrapped. Instead, Powell says audiences will get a completely standalone story from director Lee Isaac Chung:
We're not trying to recreate the plot of the first film. This is a completely original story. None of the original characters are coming back, so it's not really a sequel. It's a completely independent story set in today's world... When I was working on 'Top Gun: Maverick,' Tom Cruise mentioned something interesting. He said, 'If you want to make films of a certain scale and size, you need to come up with something that will resonate with everyone around the world.' The idea of the struggle between man and nature is universal. Everyone knows how powerless we are in the face of natural disasters.
Interesting Facts
- When Glen first moved to LA, he struggled to make ends meet. To get by, he lived with a wealthy Bel-Air family in exchange for coaching their son's football and basketball teams. Glen supports the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys.
- While Glen doesn't play any instruments, he's got eclectic musical tastes:
My musical tastes are all over the place, but they're totally activity-based. On the road, it's Frankie Valli, The Beach Boys, James Taylor, and Hall & Oates. In the gym, I blast Tupac, Eminem, Jay-Z, and Kanye. On the dance floor, I go all in with the Bee Gees, AC/DC, and Michael Jackson. When I need to be creative, I listen to John Williams, Mozart, and Hans Zimmer. With a glass of whiskey and a view, I'm all about Sinatra, Elvis, and Johnny Cash. My younger sister Leslie Powell is a singer-songwriter from Nashville and, without a doubt, my favorite artist of all. Nothing lifts my spirits better than her music.
- In one action flick, there's a scene where his character climbs an elevator shaft, runs across a roof, and jumps from an eleven-story building. Glen did all the stunts himself. He has a bucket list of extreme activities that he wants to complete before he gets too old. He keeps the list secret but will reveal items as he accomplishes them.
