“I can joke about it now”: Every major movie Glen Powell tried and failed to be cast in
Glen Powell’s savvy choices have given him an interesting career, but that doesn’t mean he hasn’t faced major disappointments.
Although most proclamations about the actor who could potentially be the ‘next Tom Cruise’ are made hyperbolically, Powell is the rare modern star who could reach that reputation eventually, being as he is, a charming, versatile performer who has a knack for comedy, drama, romance, and action, so it’s no surprise that major directors want to keep working with him.
Powell has also made the smart choice to prioritise working on original films that have the potential to break out, such as Hit Man and Anyone But You, and while they might not earn as much in the short-term as some of the established franchises, it gives him an opportunity to own a role without being part of a recurring saga that demands too much of his time. He was right to turn down the chance to be in a Jurassic World sequel, an offer to reboot The Bourne Identity, and a chance to be in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He didn’t always have the same autonomy that he does now, though, and lost out on some roles that he had truly wanted earlier on in his career. Despite having worked with Christopher Nolan briefly in The Dark Knight Rises, he was unable to land a role in Oppenheimer because it was already given to Josh Hartnett. He was also close to getting the part of Steve Rogers in Captain America: The First Avenger, and even closer to playing Han Solo in Solo: A Star Wars Story.
“I can joke about it now,” Powell said, “I blew that final audition”. Losing the role to play a younger version of Harrison Ford’s character in the Star Wars spinoff was particularly painful for him, given that he had also missed out on a chance to co-star with the beloved actor in the science fiction adventure Cowboys & Aliens.
“I auditioned for Cowboys & Aliens, to play Harrison Ford’s son,” he said, “I was like, ‘I’ve gotta be Ben Foster’. Then I get to the audition the next day, and I look at the sign-in sheet. The guy before me is Ben Foster.” Neither Powell nor Foster got the role, which ended up going to Paul Dano, but Powell said that his most painful loss was for the romantic drama The Longest Week, for a role that eventually went to Scott Eastwood.
“I remember Marty Bowen, who was the producer, just looking at me like, ‘Yeah, this is not going well,’” Powell recalled.
Losing out on a promising role can be distressing, but the actor may have benefited from not being a part of these films. The Longest Yard and Cowboys & Aliens were both box office disappointments that earned mixed reviews, and Alden Ehrenreich was put in an impossible position in Solo: A Star Wars Story because of the comparisons to Ford’s performance in the original Star Wars trilogy. Even if Chris Evans earned a significant amount of success with his role in the Captain America and Avengers films, his work outside of Marvel hasn’t been as strong.
Powell’s smartest move was to bet on himself and to help create an opportunity for his own success. His most acclaimed performance to date was in Hit Man, a film that he co-wrote after approaching his previous collaborator, Richard Linklater, about making a film together.
