It’s the year of Glen Powell.
The actor’s latest achievement is thanks to Whirlwindswhich exceeded expectations at the box office, grossing $80.5 million. It’s the third-best opening of the year, and came in about 60 percent above expectations. The fun press tour led by Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones — and Powell’s rescue dog Brisket — undoubtedly played a role in its runaway success.
Whirlwinds is the latest in a string of hits for Powell. The 35-year-old actor has already proven himself bankable at the box office with the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick and the one from December Everyone but you, which surpassed the $200 million mark earlier this year. Last month, the actor’s Netflix film Hitman debuted at #1 with 1.5 billion minutes watched in its first seven days.
“I try, career-wise, to trust my gut and my instincts and think, if I want to see this movie, I think other people want to see it,” Powell told Yahoo Entertainment about how he navigates his professional life. “And I think that’s the gut feeling I go with.”
Powell’s choice of projects is certainly part of his secret sauce, but it’s been a while since a star has exuded this kind of charismatic, approachable energy. Yahoo spoke to experts and industry insiders who explain why Powell’s rise in Hollywood has been a long time coming.
Powell’s charm is not manufactured
The Texas-born star’s good looks are obvious — but it takes more than that to become a leading man. It’s clear from watching Powell on and off screen that the actor is a “natural” when it comes to charisma.
“Glen Powell has a certain natural charm and humor,” says public relations expert Eric Schiffer tells Yahoo. “He’s America’s baby boy — a human golden retriever with great screen presence and extreme likability.”
But Powell’s charm is no facade, according to a friend of the actor who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons. And if it were fabricated, Powell wouldn’t have gotten this far.
“The Glen you see is the Glen you get,” the source tells Yahoo. “He’s the funny, charming, guy-next-door kind of guy. And yes, he’s that handsome in person.”
Expert praises Powell’s excellent material choices
It’s not easy releasing two hits back to back. Jason Squire, host of The film business podcast and professor emeritus at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, says the actor’s projects and the team he works with cannot be ignored in his success.
“The crucial thing in the life of any artist is how that artist chooses his material. That material is generated by the people around him – agents, managers,” he explains.
Squire Praises Award-Winning 2016 Film Hidden figures as a turning point for the star.
“I didn’t know who he was [before]but you can’t forget him in Hidden figures,” he continues. “That’s an example of someone who decided this was a way to go big. It’s a small part. There are some really smart, intuitive people with commercial taste behind the scenes [who] “help direct his career.”
But let’s be clear: Powell is an indispensable member of his team.
“I like the gamification of business,” he told the New York Times. “To be a lasting success in Hollywood, you have to make people money… You have to say, ‘Who is the audience for this? Are you giving people a reason to buy tickets?’ And if you don’t have a very clear answer, then move on, no matter how much you love the script or want to work with the director.”
Powell is getting more practical (literally) with his material. He co-wrote Hitman. He will produce and star in the upcoming Hulu comedy series Chad Powerswhich he also co-wrote and co-created.
That said, Powell also knows the power of no. He told the New York Times that he’s watching the new episodes of Jurassic Park And Bourne Identity.
For Powell, all the pieces fell into place Whirlwinds.
“Like with this movie, you have to go with your instincts, you know, it’s part science, part instinct, and I think the science aspect of this is the team around it,” he told Yahoo about why Whirlwinds was a “yes”. “You’ve got Daisy, you’ve got Lee Isaac Chung, [executive producer] Steven Spielberg… Then I think the instinct is that the world is craving this flavor.”
Yeah — Powell is actually a nice guy
It’s an open secret in Hollywood who the problematic actors are. Some stars’ bad behavior makes the news, but most don’t. Powell’s reputation for kindness and respect precedes him, which can be a rarity these days.
Those who have worked with Powell have raved about him to Yahoo, and aside from the fact that everyone is wondering if their chemistry with him Everyone but you co-star Sydney Sweeney once translated off-screen, he has avoided becoming tabloid fodder. In fact, the actors have admitted to stoking the rumors on purpose — and to their advantage.
Schiffer, president of Reputation Management Consultants in Los Angeles, tells Yahoo that Powell is doing everything right from a PR perspective. “Great branding and [he] knows how to communicate authentically to build a loyal fan base. He is positive, genuine and kind, which is rare in Hollywood. Producers and talent will continue to want to work with him, and there are even bigger opportunities ahead for him.”
Powell has been working hard on it
Powell got his breakthrough in 2006, when he was cast in Denzel Washington’s The Great Debaters. Washington’s agent at the time, the late powerhouse Ed Limato, signed Powell. The actor eventually dropped out of the University of Texas at Austin and moved to Los Angeles.
While Powell was auditioning, he was simultaneously interning with producer Lynda Obst (How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Sleepless in Seattle). He read scripts and got an inside track on the business side of Hollywood. “He was adorable — chart-topping charm,” Obst told the New York Times. “But that’s not what impressed me, and it’s not the reason he’s successful.”
“Actors can show charm, but not intelligence,” she added. “Glen is smart and has learned about developing scripts and film structure. It has made him independent and cunning.”
“He’s the next Glen Powell”
Studios (and the press) love to label an actor the next someoneWhile nice guy Texan Matthew McConaughey seems like an obvious choice here, no one can agree on exactly who Powell is channeling.
Hitman director Richard Linklater, who cast McConaughey in his breakout role in Confused and numbunderstands the comparison between the two, but said it doesn’t hold water. “I know he shares the Texas thing, but Glen, his mind is wired very differently than Matthew. That’s all I can say. I mean, they’re handsome, handsome guys, for sure, but I don’t really think about it that much,” the filmmaker told GQ.
Jamie Lee Curtis knew Powell was going to be a “big, big movie star” when they worked together on the series Scream queen and compared the actor to another famous face. “He does physical comedy very well — he’s funny — but he also has depth. He’s not unattractive, perhaps. I feel the same way about Glen that I feel about Jake Gyllenhaal,” she told the New York Times.
Schiffer tells Yahoo that he thinks Powell’s career “is a mix of Bradley Cooper and Ryan Gosling, with a balance of comedy and drama.”
There are plenty of talented young actors on the scene right now who could potentially vie for similar roles (Timothée Chalamet, Tom Holland and Austin Butler, to name a few). But Schiffer believes Powell is forging his own path. “These actors are going for more dramatic and serious roles, but Powell is diversifying with rom-com and comedy with a warmth that others don’t have.”
The fact that Powell seems to possess aspects of the aforementioned celebrities is certainly a plus, but the fact that he can’t be compared to any one star is a bonus.
“He’s the next Glen Powell,” one studio executive bluntly put it to Yahoo.
Updated on July 23, 2024: This story has been updated after the release of Twisters.
