Glen Powell: From Spy Kids 3 To Twisters

Glen Powell has become an unlikely star in the past two years, between beloved roles in the action movie "Top Gun: Maverick" and the throwback rom-com "Anyone But You." Hollywood's newest golden boy grew up in Austin, Texas, and though he hit his stride in his 30s, he first hit screens as a teen, doing a variety of guest TV roles and smaller films before taking on leading roles and writing his own projects.

Audiences know him now for his handsome, cocky heroes and affable love interests, but his resume is full of gems that you're sure to recognize him from. You may not have known it was him at the time, but looking back, his star power is apparent, even if he's just an unnamed stock trader in a Christopher Nolan movie. Some of them even set him up for the success he has today, cementing working relationships that have made way for career-best performances and led to inductions into film hall of fames.

From his first movie appearance in "Spy Kids" to his take on the classic summer blockbuster "Twister," here's everything you need to know about actor, writer, and producer Glen Powell.

Audiences who grew up in the 1990s and 2000s on franchises like "Spy Kids" were watching Glen Powell in action before they realized it. The actor makes a brief appearance as "Long-fingered Boy" in "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over." As the Long-fingered Boy, he welcomes Juni Cortez (Daryl Sabara) to a mech arena as Juni dives into a new game from the Toymaker (Sylvester Stallone) to save his sister Carmen (Alexa Vega). She's trapped on Level 4, and with the help of new friends, Juni saves the children in the game and helps the Toymaker set aside his villainous ways.

Robert Rodriguez, the director, shared with IndieWire in 2024 that Powell was sure of his career as an actor at his young age. "He already had that quality at 14 and clarity of vision that that's what he was supposed to be," Rodriguez said. "I just love that." Powell was in good company — the movie was also the first film appearance of Selena Gomez.

While promoting "Hit Man," Powell reflected on his time with "Spy Kids." "I will never forget that moment," the actor stated to The Hollywood Reporter (via US Weekly). "I think the 'Spy Kids' experience was one of the best days of my whole life."

One of Glen Powell's early films started what would become a long-term relationship with director Richard Linklater. The indie director is known for films like "School of Rock," "Dazed and Confused," and "Boyhood," to name a few.

Powell was a part of Linklater's political satire "Fast Food Nation” as Steve, a high school student opposite Paul Dano's Brian. The movie is based on the non-fiction book "Fast Food Nation: The Dark Side of the All-American Meal" by Eric Schlosser, which looks into the different aspects of the fast food industry from production to restaurant. The adaptation opts for fiction instead, following several people associated with a fictional fast food chain under fire after an independent study showed that the meat they use in their burgers is contaminated with feces. Nothing is quite what it seems, even when the corporation's marketing director, Don Anderson (Greg Kinnear), heads to the production facilities to see what's going on.

Powell's role in the film is small, but it was the start of a pivotal relationship for the young actor. "Fast Food Nation" was the first of several films the actor made with Linklater, the others being "Everybody Wants Some!!," "Apollo 10½: A Space Age Childhood," and "Hit Man."

Even if you didn't know Glen Powell until his more high-profile roles, chances are you might recognize him from his guest roles on popular TV shows. From crime procedurals to Stephen Spielberg-produced miniseries, the actor has popped up in several TV projects over the years. His first appearance on TV came as a contestant on the Discovery Kids series "Endurance" in 2003. Designed as a kids' version of "Survivor," Powell competed in the second season, only to be eliminated in the first episode. His career on TV continued with appearances in the pilot episode of "Jack & Bobby” and an episode of the miniseries "Into the West," a Western show executive-produced by Spielberg. Powell also appeared in popular crime shows, with guest roles in "Without a Trace" and "CSI: Miami" — and like almost everybody else in Hollywood, he also played a character on "NCIS."

Powell's career also gained traction thanks to roles in popular films. He plays a stockbroker in a brief scene in "The Dark Knight Rises." In the sequence, Tom Hardy's Bane attacks the Gotham City stock exchange, and Powell plays a broker whose head he slams into a computer. (Hardy accidentally sent Powell to the medic filming the scene.) A user on Reddit was quick to note that Powell's role in "Anyone But You" is also a stock trader, joking that the romantic comedy is unofficially the fourth installment of the Christopher Nolan-directed "Batman" series. Powell also appeared in "The Expendables 3" and "Ride Along 2."

It wasn't until 2015 that Glen Powell had his first leading role on the small screen. Powell starred as Chad Radwell in the Ryan Murphy project "Scream Queens." A combination of the frights of "American Horror Story” and the laughs of "Glee," the series lasted two seasons on Fox. The cast featured alumni from Murphy's other shows, including Emma Roberts as Chanel Oberlin, Billie Lourd as Sadie Swenson, and Lea Michele as Hester Ulrich. Other additions to the cast include Nick Jonas, Keke Palmer, Taylor Lautner, Ariana Grande, and Patrick Schwarzenegger.

Chad Radwell is Chanel Oberlin's boyfriend, who is turned on by death. Initially leaving her at the start of the series because of her sorority's new recruits, the two are on and off throughout the first season of the show. In the second season, Chad is a medical student who faces an untimely death and continues to appear throughout the season as a ghost. Angela Tricarico writing for Decider argued that Chad is still Powell's best role to date, calling the character a "horror himbo" who is "wildly different" from anything else he's played so far. Despite the character being incredibly unlikeable, Powell's performance makes sure you root for him anyway.

The first role that likely put Glen Powell on many audiences' radars was his performance as astronaut John Glenn in "Hidden Figures." The Oscar-nominated film is based on the story of three African-American women who worked as mathematicians at NASA during the 1960s.

Though he has a small role in the movie, Powell revealed in 2024 that he thought he "ruined" the project when he first saw the initial edit. While speaking on "Therapuss with Jake Shane," the actor shared that he "puked in the bushes" after watching it for the first time. "I thought I ruined this movie," Powell stated. "I was like, 'All these women put in these great performances,' and it's like, the legacy of these women. I was like, 'I literally ruined this movie.'" He said he saw the first cut of the film on the Fox lot and thought he did a terrible job portraying the real person behind his role. The actor said he felt better about his performance after the movie was completed.

The reviews disagree with Powell's self-assessment. Mike Ryan wrote for Uproxx that the actor has a "real knack for showing up in every movie and being 'cool,'" while the blog The Film Realm said Powell was his "usual great [self]" in the movie.

Many rom-com fans know Glen Powell from "Anyone But You," but they should seek out his first rom-com as the male lead — the Netflix hidden gem "Set It Up." The film sees Powell reunite with Zoey Deutch. The two previously appeared in the Richard Linklater-directed "Everybody Wants Some!!," but they play lovers this time in "Set It Up."

Powell is Charlie, an overworked and underpaid assistant to venture capitalist Rick Otis (Taye Diggs). With the help of Deutch's Harper, the two set their bosses up to give them free time and normal work hours, but the assistants fall in love in the process. "Set It Up" received favorable reviews, with Entertainment Weekly calling it "the gold-standard for the frothy summer rom-com" and complimenting Powell's ability to be "snarky without being smarmy," though noting the script felt thin. Vanity Fair said Netflix would "save the rom-com" genre with films like "Set It Up."

To prepare for playing an assistant, the actor took his agency's assistants out to lunch and invited them to tell him about their worst experiences with their bosses, he shared with Vanity Fair. His preparation also included three days working phones for his agency and visiting a venture-capitalist firm. With Powell's success with another romantic comedy, some argue "Set It Up" was actually his better entry in the genre. Vanessa Cryer, writing for The Guardian, argued that it was a new classic of the rom-com genre.

Glen Powell has also tried his hand at being in a podcast. Basketball fans may know of the Audible Original podcast "10 Days." The scripted series follows Danny Miles, a player that receives a 10-day contract from the Philadelphia 76ers after not securing a team placement during the NBA draft.

Powell voices the lead character, supported by the voice talents of Lamorne Morris and Erinn Westbrook. Across 10 episodes, listeners can follow Danny's intense journey to prove he has a place in the NBA instead of the minor league he's been in, while also struggling with personal issues, like an overbearing mother and the dynamics with his new teammates.

While it may not be one of the most well-known projects on Powell's resume, the podcast boasts high praise from its audience. The podcast has a 4.7/5 overall on Audible, with even higher scores for the voice performance and story.

"Top Gun: Maverick" is credited with reviving the post-COVID box office, but it is also the project that propelled Glen Powell into mainstream success. The actor appears as the antagonist Jake "Hangman" Seresin. Powell originally auditioned to play Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw, a role that went to Miles Teller. However, star Tom Cruise and director Joseph Kosinski wanted him to play Hangman. Powell wasn't interested in the character as he was originally written, but after discussing his thoughts with Cruise, the character was changed and Powell signed on. He gained a mentor in Cruise, who had Powell watch a six-hour film he made to share everything he knows about filmmaking.

To prepare to play a pilot, the actor went to flight school, he told Men's Journal. That included obtaining his pilot's license — and he had Cruise to thank for his enthusiasm for flying. Powell lived as a member of the Navy, heading to Miramar, Florida, and the Marine Corps Air Station shortly after joining the cast. To honor Powell's work in "Top Gun: Maverick," "Apollo 10½," and "Devotion," the Austin Film Critics Association gave the Austin native a special honorary award. The actor was also nominated for best breakthrough performance: male by the Online Film and Television Association for his role as Hangman.

In addition to on-screen appearances, Glen Powell has lent his voice to several projects, from children's television to long-running adult series. Fans of "Madagascar" and all of the franchise's spin-off series might know him as Trent the dolphin from the show "All Hail King Julien." He's in three episodes total across two "King Julien" series.

The actor's voice is also in "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous," the animated Netflix series that follows a group of teenagers who, after being invited to a camp, end up stranded at Jurassic World. The show's timeline is tangled in with the "Jurassic World" trilogy. Powell is paleontologist Dave, a recurring character in the first and fifth seasons. Other notable actors in the project include Jenna Ortega in the main role of teenager Brooklynn and Jameela Jamil as recurring paleontologist Roxie. Powell also lent his voice to an episode of the popular adult animated series "Rick and Morty" in 2023 and to "Robot Chicken" in 2020.

From early on in his career, Glen Powell has written his own projects. While living with a roommate in Los Angeles, he would turn the living room into a writers room as he worked to get his acting career off the ground. One of his early projects is the sci-fi short "J.A.W.," which stars "Grey's Anatomy" alum Jesse Williams and "Smile" breakout Caitlin Stasey.

His 2023 film "Hit Man" combines his writing abilities and long-time relationship with Richard Linklater. The movie is based on an article from Texas Monthly about a professor who worked with the local authorities as an undercover fake hit man. As a fake hit man, the professor dresses up in numerous ways, working to conform to what each particular suspect thinks a hit man looks like. Powell stars in the movie and wrote it alongside Linklater, who directs it. The duo screened the film at Venice International Film Festival and the Toronto International Film Festival in 2023. Netflix bought the distribution rights.

"Hit Man" received outstanding reviews from critics, particularly regarding Powell's performance. "'Hit Man' also works as proof of Powell's versatility," Clarisse Loughrey wrote for the Independent. Chicago Sun-Times reviewer Richard Roeper wrote, "Glen Powell ... solidifies his bona fide movie-star standing and delivers some of his best work yet," while The Guardian critic Peter Bradshaw wrote, "Powell's cheerfully likable performance gets us past the absurdity of this beyond-implausible premise."

While "Top Gun: Maverick" made Glen Powell a household name, the romantic comedy "Anyone But You" took his career to a new level. The actor stars as Ben in the modern retelling of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" opposite Sydney Sweeney's Bea. The movie follows the two as they have an instant chemistry during a coffee shop meet-cute, only for a slew of miscommunications to cause them to hate and blame each other for their date ending poorly. When they end up as members of the same wedding party, still disliking each other, the rest of the characters plot to get them together by the end of the wedding.

While critics gave "Anyone But You" mixed reviews, audiences loved it. The movie brought in over $200 million at the box office against its $25 million budget. Sony capitalized on this success, releasing an extended version in theaters for Valentine's Day 2024. The film is widely credited as having the potential to revive the rom-com genre, especially because it shows that rom-coms still have box office potential and brings back what people love about them. It also sparked a friendship between Powell and Sweeney, with whom he also appeared on "Saturday Night Live," though the star has dispelled rumors that he and Sweeney are an IRL couple.

Anyone who is familiar with Glen Powell knows he is a huge fan of his home state. Born and raised in Texas, the actor is a fan of the Texas Longhorns and makes it no secret that the Lone Star State holds a special place in his heart.

While promoting "Hit Man," Powell shared with The Hollywood Reporter that he is moving back to Texas, making his home state his new permanent residence. The actor originally moved to Los Angeles after his freshman year at the University of Texas. Powell's new home in Austin is just a half hour from his parents' house. He's also finishing up his college degree from the University of Texas. As his career has grown, he realized he wanted to live at a different speed than the Los Angeles lifestyle typically calls for. "And for me, especially as my parents get older and my niece and nephew are growing up, I want a separation of those worlds," Powell said.

In addition moving back to his home state, the actor was inducted in the Austin Film Society's Hall of Fame. Richard Linklater is the artistic director and founder of the society, making it even more of a full-circle moment for Powell.

As his career continues to grow, Glen Powell shows no signs of slowing down. The actor secured one of the lead roles in the legacy sequel "Twisters" alongside Daisy Edgar-Jones. Powell has said, though, that "Twisters" is different from "Top Gun: Maverick": He said "Twisters" is neither a reboot nor a sequel, just a standalone story that pays homage to a '90s classic.

Powell is continuing to write his own projects as well. He's working on an adaptation of "Captain Planet," which features an environmentally friendly superhero, and is writing a comedy series for Hulu. He's also connected to a "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" project as an executive producer — he's expected to star alongside Regé-Jean Page. He's also continuing to work with "Hit Man" distributor Netflix, which purchased one of his next projects, "Monsanto." The movie follows Powell as Brent Wisner, an attorney who takes on the Monsanto company in court. Laura Dern and Anthony Mackie are also starring in the film.