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Leading Man Glen Powell's Career Explained Ahead of Twisters
The handsome actor with the chiseled jaw has been in the Hollywood game for just over two decades.
In Twisters (opening in theaters everywhere on July 19), Glen Powell plays a cocky social media influencer by the name of Tyler Owens, otherwise known as "The Tornado Wrangler" by his adoring followers. Put another way, he's a modern-day version of Jonas Miller, the pseudo-antagonist character Cary Elwes played in Twister.
Powell's handsome good looks, chiseled jawline, and winning smile make him the perfect person to play the smug adversary archetype audiences love to hate. But while it might seem like this dude came out of nowhere with his breakout role as Jake "Hangman" Seresin in Top Gun: Maverick, he's actually been on our screens a lot longer than you might think.
RELATED: Glen Powell Says Filming Twisters Involved a "Jet Engine Hitting Us with Ice"
How Long Has Glen Powell Been Acting?
Despite his recent rise to super-stardom, the 35-year-old Powell has been acting for just over two decades. He made his big screen debut at the age of 13, playing the virtual gamer who interacts with Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) inside the robot battle arena located on the moon in Robert Rodriguez's Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.
His big break came several years later when he landed a part in Denzel Washington's The Great Debaters, which prompted him to leave college after his freshman year, move to Los Angeles, and pursue acting full-time.
Since then, the actor has appeared in over two dozen high-profile film and television projects such as The Dark Knight Rises, Hidden Figures, Scream Queens, Set It Up, and Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous. However, it wasn't until the last couple of years that he began to cultivate a "leading man" reputation with the likes of Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man, and Anyone But You. His Hollywood clout became so large, in fact, that he was comfortable enough passing on a key role in the next Jurassic World blockbuster.
Does Glen Powell Live in Los Angeles?
Nope! While he regularly visits Los Angeles for work-related engagements, Powell no longer maintains a residence in the Hollywood Hills, preferring to live in his home state of Texas. Interestingly, Oscar winner Matthew McConaughey (a fellow Texan) advised the actor to keep a comfortable distance from the heart of the entertainment industry.
“He’s like, ‘Hollywood is the Matrix, man. You plug in and it’s all fake world,’" Powell told The Hollywood Reporter back in May of this year. “He’s like, ‘Then I go to Austin, and I unplug. It’s all real. Those are my friends, that’s my family, my actions matter there.’ And he’s right. If you’re here, you live in the Matrix all the time, there’s no separation of those worlds. And for me, especially as my parents get older and my niece and nephew are growing up, I want a separation of those worlds.”
RELATED: Glen Powell Adopted His "Son" Brisket While Filming Twisters in Oklahoma
Powell has also decided to finish his college degree at the University of Texas by earning a bachelor's in Spanish and Early American History.
RELATED: Why You “Can’t Fake" Twisters Details with Steven Spielberg: “He’s Seen Every YouTube Tornado Video”
When Does Twisters Open in Theaters?
Twisters arrives exclusively on the big screen next Friday — July 19. Want to see it two days before everyone else? Click here to pick up tickets for early access screenings on Wednesday, July 17.
