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He has matinee idol looks, can deliver convincing performances in any genre, loves doing his own stunts, and, boy, can he run fast!
No, I’m not talking about Tom Cruise — I’m talking about Glen Powell.
In an era where genuine movie stars are becoming endangered species, Powell is making the case that they can and do still exist. And his training comes from one of the best.
Though Powell got his first acting role more than two decades ago, he rose from relative obscurity to the latest “It” actor in Hollywood after starring alongside Cruise as Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the 2022 blockbuster hit “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Soon after, he solidified his sex symbol status starring opposite Sydney Sweeney in the 2023 rom-com “Anyone but You,” which brought in over $220 million in theaters worldwide and helped revive the rom-com genre at the box office. Then came a blockbuster and a TV series (2024’s “Twisters” and Hulu’s “Chad Powers,” respectively), which proved Powell can carry projects on both the big and small screen.
Paramount Pictures
But if Powell is to ascend to Tom Cruise levels of superstardom, he’ll first have to nail his gutsiest move yet: becoming the face of a remake of a movie that first starred one of the biggest actors of the 1980s: Arnold Schwarzenegger.
If anyone has faith that Powell can pull it off, it’s Edgar Wright, who directed him in his new film “The Running Man,” in theaters Friday. He said he caught Powell at the perfect time to play the original Schwarzenegger role of Ben Richards, a man who enters the titular lucrative-but-deadly game show in hopes of using the prize money to get him and his family out of poverty.
“The studio had a list of people — these are the types of actors that we would greenlight this movie with,” Wright told Business Insider. “Glen was the one person who I thought, ‘That’s our guy.'”
Despite his rising status in Hollywood, Wright said Powell’s down-home appeal made him right for the role.
“To me, he can still play the everyman,” Wright said. “So when I saw Glen’s name on the list, I was really excited.”
That everyman quality may soon be harder to come by honestly, especially once “The Running Man” hits theaters. Powell is magnetic, and he’s in almost every shot — not to mention he did many of his own stunts (sound like anyone else we know?).
“He wanted to do as much as he could on camera, and I know he learned that from Tom,” Wright said of Powell’s stunt work in the movie. “I think Tom was probably the first phone call he made when he got the gig. Well, I know he did [call him] because he was asking about advice on how to do your own stunts and running.”
Paramount Pictures
Powell may have taken cues from Cruise’s stunt work, but he’s followed his playbook for fame more astutely in other ways. He hasn’t played a superhero (yet), choosing to focus on projects in which the biggest known quantity involved is himself or other actors — not fictional characters. Like DiCaprio and Timothée Chalamet, he also hasn’t attached himself to a years-sucking franchise (something Cruise has done with “Mission: Impossible,” though arguably he’s succeeded in making that series more about his personality than the source material). He’s putting butts in seats and proving he can be bankable star based on the strength of his personal brand alone.
The buzz around Hollywood is that executives can’t get enough. One studio head I spoke to earlier this year, who has worked with Cruise for many years, couldn’t stop gushing about Powell.
Powell clearly excels at this social game within the business. Not only will it keep him employed, but it also will bring him to a higher level of movie stardom — as long as his performances can continue to back it up.
Powell has said that no one will ever replace Tom Cruise. But the reality is that Cruise is 63 and can’t hang on the side of airplanes for much longer. I’m not saying Powell has to do it exactly like Cruise, but in a time when Hollywood is desperately searching for new superstars, perhaps using Cruise’s path to forge one’s own isn’t a bad idea.
“The Running Man” is in theaters on Friday.
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