Glen Powell garnered widespread appreciation after the success of Top Gun: Maverick. After a streak of playing minor characters, the actor finally got his breakout role as ‘Hangman’. Although the actor auditioned to play ‘Rooster’ in the 2022 blockbuster, it was given to Miles Teller and Tom Cruise offered Hangman to Powell after liking his performance.
Top Gun: Maverick was a monumental success for everyone involved. The Joseph Kosinski directorial almost earned $1.5 Billion worldwide and was globally praised for reviving cinema after the pandemic. However, it also proved successful for many young actors who wanted to know more about movies from the A-lister.
Glen Powell learned the importance of good projects from Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise is undoubtedly one of the finest Hollywood stars of this era. The A-lister’s charm and fame as an action star have made him a universal fan favorite. It is not very surprising that many of the youngsters working in Top Gun: Maverick wanted to take notes from him.
In an interview with Deadline, Top Gun: Maverick‘s director Joseph Kosinski shared that there was a day when every new star was taking some pointers about their career from Tom Cruise. But among all of them, Kosinski distinctly remembered the Mission Impossible star’s advice to Glen Powell.
The director recalled that Cruise instructed the Anyone But You actor to chase great films instead of roles. According to the action icon, young actors must focus on choosing good scripts and give their full potential to the roles in them.
I remember Tom asked Glen (Powell), what kind of career do you want? Glen said, ‘I want your career, Tom.’ So, Tom said, ‘How do you think I got that?’ Glen said, ‘By choosing great roles.’ And Tom said, ‘No. That’s not how I did it. I did it by choosing great films. Then, I took the roles and made them the best I could.’ That advice blew Glen’s mind.
Joseph Kosinski added that it is also one of the prime reasons behind Tom Cruise’s success. Rather than chasing roles based on their greatness, Cruise chose great directors and scripts. The director who previously worked with Cruise in Oblivion opined that it is one of the primary qualities missing from the new actors.
Glen Powell shares a wholesome bond with Tom Cruise
Following Top Gun: Maverick, Glen Powell forged an incredible bond with Tom Cruise. It looks like the Jerry Maguire actor contributed immensely to the career of Powell as the latter called Cruise “a special part of his life” (via E! News).
Glen Powell recently earned more praise after starring in the disaster flick, Twisters. The film became a critical and commercial hit, further cementing the actor as the probable next big thing in Hollywood. In the E! News interview, Powell suggested that he tried to make Twisters better by utilizing everything he learned from Tom Cruise and the others in Top Gun: Maverick.
It’s the best. He’s such a great friend and such a great mentor and it’s been such a special part of my life. Making that movie together was one that changed my life. It really taught me a lot about how to make a big event movie and so many of those lessons on Top Gun were put into Twisters and it really benefitted.
In another conversation with GQ Magazine, the Texas-born actor shared more stories about his bromance with Tom Cruise. He stated that Cruise personally flew him back to London when they had reshoots for the Top Gun sequel. Additionally, the War of the Worlds actor also sent Powell to an LA cinema to watch a “‘film school’ movie” that he had put together for his close friends.
Top Gun: Maverick can be streamed on Paramount+ and Twisters is running in theaters near you.
