TOP GUN: MAVERICK Star Says Hollywood ‘Underserves’ Many Americans
By Movieguide® Contributor
Texas-born and bred actor Glen Powell says Hollywood has “underserved” large populations in America.
“Having grown up in and around Texas, I’m aware there are vast parts of America that have been underserved in terms of movies that they want to see,” the Austin native told The Telegraph this week. “You sort of have New York and Los Angeles making the decisions about what gets made, but there’s a whole lot more audience out there you need to think about.”
After 15 years in LA, the actor moved back to Austin to be with family and complete his degree at the University of Texas.
Ahead of the move, he told the Hollywood Reporter, “I think this is going to be good for my head, heart and soul.”
In May, he said that Matthew McConaughey inspired his transition, saying, “He’s like, ‘Hollywood is the Matrix, man. You plug in and it’s all fake world. “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.”
Of Hollywood, he said, “If you’re here, you live in the Matrix all the time, there’s no separation of those worlds.”
One of Powell’s recent movies is ANYONE BUT YOU, a rom-com. Per Fox News, the genre is considered “dead” by many who work in Hollywood.
But Powell says, “One of the things that I’ve realized recently is that when studios say a genre is dead, all it means is that there’s a huge opportunity because a market is not being served.”
“The business stopped making romantic comedies, apparently, because romantic comedies weren’t making any money in theatres. But my belief is there’s no problem facing Hollywood that can’t be solved by a really good movie,” he said.
Powell’s latest movie, TWISTERS, releases on Friday. He says the thriller doesn’t have anything to do with climate change.
“First and foremost, because if you’re telling people what to think, you’re not allowing them to feel. You can’t put people into that heightened state if they’re thinking, ‘Hmm, do I or do I not agree with this message?’” he said.
“Of course, you might want to have conversations about those other things later,” Powell added, “but that’s not what our movie is about. It’s man and woman versus nature; finding out who we really are in the face of the storm.”
In May, Powell was inducted into the Texas Hall of Fame. He wrote about his journey to stardom and gratitude in an Instagram post, finishing with, “I love Texas. I love Texans. I promise to make y’all proud.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Powell:
Glen Powell recently revealed Tom Cruise had to convince him to star in TOP GUN: MAVERICK.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Powell explained that he auditioned for Rooster, a part that eventually went to Miles Teller.
“Not getting it was so wounding to me that I was like, ‘Oh, I care too much,’” the actor said.
The movie’s producers offered him another role, but Powell wasn’t interested in the character.
“I wanted him to be reminiscent of Val Kilmer [who played Iceman] — a guy who was having fun saving the day,” he explained. “But I read the script, and I didn’t like this guy…and he wasn’t even a good pilot.”
However, Cruise didn’t give up on Powell and sat down with the younger actor to talk about his career. Powell ended up taking the role in TOP GUN: MAVERICK and even got to work with the producers to change the character into one he was interested in playing.
