Glen Powell Reveals Why He “Ran Away” from Hollywood and Why He Turned Down the New ‘Jurassic’ Movie

He is 35 years old and he comes from Austin, TX. He is an actor and you’ve probably seen him in Top Gun: Maverick, but don’t remember him as he was not Tom Cruise. Since then, his career has been on an upward spiral, and he has had some very successful projects. His name is Glen Powell and the actor has finally managed to “conquer Hollywood” at the age of 35, which is also when he decided to retreat a bit and go back to his roots. Okay, he’s not quitting, and he has many plans for the future, but the Texan has decided to take a different approach to fame.

In a major interview for The Hollywood Reporter, Powell discussed his career, his internal struggles, as well as his future plans, revealing that while we won’t be seeing him, we will still be seeing him everywhere at the same time. If that makes sense.

Interestingly enough, Powell began acting as a child in 2003, appearing in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over. And while he kept collecting smaller roles in big or bigger projects, it wasn’t until 2022, when he was cast as Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin in Top Gun: Maverick that his career soared, as he suddenly became one of the hottest names on the market. But while Top Gun helped his career, it was the 2023 hit rom-com Anyone but You, where he starred alongside Sydney Sweeney, that actually made him very popular with the fans as well:

“I’m on the radar for the first time in my whole life, and it’s weird. I mean, after Top Gun, a guy would literally be wearing a Top Gun shirt and I’d be talking to him, and it was clear he had no idea. It’s more fun once you understand where that knob is,” he says. And I got to turn it up, and then I got to turn it down.”

Source: The Hollwyood Reporter

But while the sudden fame definitely helped him, Powell reflected on how he did not really know how to cope with it properly and how he found himself questioning the authenticity of his actions, his relationships, and his life in general. This is, he reveals, where his fellow Texan Matthew McConaughey came in with some great advice:

“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. 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.”

Source: The Hollwyood Reporter

And that is what Powell did. He bought a house next to his parents in Austin and will use it as a retreat, a place where he can be himself and a place where he will be able to escape everything. At the height of his popularity, the actor decided to retreat so he could party with his own people, escape the Hollywood spotlights, and finally graduate college, but as he himself said, he does not plan on quitting the movie industry. He is currently signed on to appear in a thriller for A24, and he has revealed that he is “pandering Oscar bait, for one, but also Marvel fare,” which might excite a lot of fans, especially the second bit.

But, the actor has also passed on several projects, including a new Bourne project, as well as the upcoming Jurassic movie, which he reveals will be great, based on the script he’s read:

“Jurassic is one of my favorite movies. It’s one of the things I’ve wanted to do my whole life. I’m not doing that movie because I read the script and I immediately was like, my presence in this movie doesn’t help it,” he explains. “And the script’s great. The movie’s going to fucking kill. It’s not about that. It’s about choosing where you’re going to make an audience happy and where you’re going to make yourself happy.”

Source: The Hollwyood Reporter

And that is really the gist of it, as far as the young actor is concerned. This is a rare phenomenon in Hollywood, really, as most actors either embrace the zenith or don’t know how to properly cope with it. Powell, on the other hand, decided to stay true to himself, and it seems that it has paid off. This interview was truly great, and we wanted to provide you with an insight that you might not have gotten otherwise. The actor is currently working and preparing for his upcoming role. He has also begun to settle into his new home in Texas and has done some press tours and guest appearances, which is something he really likes: “And I’m more than happy to be on a press tour. I love it. I love going on a Jimmy Fallon — you walk out, you sign autographs, you do the whole thing.” With this, we have decided to close off this report. This interview was definitely one of the more interesting pieces we’ve read this year, so we hope you’ll share our enthusiasm and will give the whole interview a go.

What we have brought you here are the most interesting parts of the interview, which is a very long and interesting one. If you want to read the whole thing – and we advise you to do so if Powell is your favorite – you can do it here.

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