Biography of Glen Powell
Glen Powell is an American actor, screenwriter, and producer known for his roles as Thorn in the action-adventure "The Expendables 3," Chad Radwell in the horror film "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, after which his career took off.
Childhood and Family
Glen Thomas Powell Jr. was born in the fall of 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, and his mother was a homemaker.On his mother's side, the actor 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 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. However, as a teenager, he managed to audition for the sci-fi film "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" (2003).
Although 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 persistently attended auditions, playing minor roles.
In 2007, Powell enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. Before that, 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 an unprotected, 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 his agent, Powell spent quite a long time in supporting and tiny 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, the actor landed his first leading role in the thriller "Wind Walkers", followed by a role in the action film "The Expendables 3". Sylvester Stallone helped him get the part (Glen is a big fan of the action star and the "The Expendables" franchise overall). In a letter to Stallone, Powell shared one of his wild childhood stories 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", which also starred 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.
Powell considered 2022 a successful year when the action film "Top Gun: Maverick" (Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin) and the biographical film "Devotion" (Tom Hudner) were released. He talked about the latter film in one interview:
Though the second film did not match the worldwide box office success of "Top Gun" with Tom Cruise, it became a test of endurance 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 doesn't hide that he can't resist female charm. In January 2017, tabloids buzzed about his possible romance with actress Nina Dobrev, and in July, Twitter spread their affectionate photos from a photobooth, which the actors didn't deny.But by November, this story had ended, though they remained friends: in 2022, Nina was photographed with Glenn and her new boyfriend at the Omega Masters tournament.
After that, Glenn dated Australian TV host Renee Bargh for several months, and at the beginning of 2020, he started appearing with model Gigi Paris.
After filming the comedy "Anyone But You," rumors linked the actor with his co-star Sydney Sweeney, though both denied it. Glenn called the romance rumors with Sydney "disorienting and unfair": "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
At the beginning of 2024, it was announced that filming for the action movie "Top Gun 3" would begin in 2026, with Glen reprising his role as Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin.After the premiere of "Anyone But You," the actor discussed the filming of the disaster movie "Twisters" in a new interview. The initial idea to make a sequel to the 1996 film with Helen Hunt was rejected. Powell claims that viewers will see a completely standalone story directed by Lee Isaac Chung:
We're not trying to recreate the plot of the first film. This is a completely original story. None of the characters from the original movie will return, so it can't be called a sequel. It's an independent and self-contained story set in modern times... 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 Powell first moved to Los Angeles, he faced difficulties. To make a living, he stayed with a wealthy family in Bel-Air in exchange for coaching their son’s football and basketball teams. Glen supports the Texas Longhorns and Dallas Cowboys.
- Although Glen doesn't play musical instruments, he loves various kinds of music:
My musical tastes are diverse, but they are more 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 an action movie, 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.
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