Glen Powell Squeezes in College While Filming Next Blockbuster

Published: July 24, 2024

Glen Powell Squeezes in College While Filming Next Blockbuster

By Movieguide® Contributor

While many actors might take some time off after starring in a box office-topping movie like TWISTERS, Glen Powell is hitting the books as he looks to finish his college degree while shooting his next movie.

“I’m not going to be sitting in class with other students on the regular,” Powell told Indiewire. “I’m basically going to be coming back because I have to finish up, but I’m going to be shooting THE RUNNING MAN in the fall. So I’m going to be in London, but I am going to be going back for proctored exams.”

“So, they’re letting me figure it out [with] distance learning. And I’m obviously going to be coming in — Zooming in — for classes and whatnot, but I have to be back for the proctored exams,” Powell continued. “So, we’re figuring that out for two or three times a semester, I’ll come back for all my stuff. [Director] Edgar [Wright] has been very nice about letting me finish my degree in the middle of his massive movie.”

Powell initially left the University of Texas (UT) after one year to move to Hollywood to pursue his acting career. However, in recent years, he has been picking up classes whenever he can to work towards his degree. He currently sits only a few credits shy of a degree in Spanish and Early American studies.

While the actor is finishing out his academic career for his own sake, he is also working to become a UT graduate for a connection to his family as well.

“I think it’s really important to my mom and it’s more of an emotional thing for me,” Powell told The Hollywood Reporter in May. “Plus, I’m so close, I can taste it.

The college is also where his grandparents met for the first time.

“No matter where I am in the world, I have never missed watching a Texas-OU game,” he told students during a keynote address last year. “My grandparents met on this campus. My parents are both Longhorns. My sister’s a Longhorn. My cousins are Longhorns.”

Movieguide® previously reported on Powell:

While promoting his new movie TWISTERS, Glen Powell explained how his parents have found their own path in acting, appearing in almost every one of his movies.

“They’ve made it in [every movie] since SPY KIDS 3-D: GAME OVER,” Powell told TODAY.

“They’re right behind Daisy Edgar-Jones and I,” Powell added as a clip from TWISTERS that they appeared in played. “You’ll be able to see them here in a second. Yeah, they’re right behind us there… Look at that.”

Along with having his parents join him as extras on the movie, TWISTERS was a special movie for Powell to make because it reminded him of growing up in Texas.

“I really love this one. Maybe it’s because I feel really comfortable in a cowboy hat,” he said. “This one, growing up in Texas… my friends really want to see this one. It’s great.”