Glen Powell names “my favourite movie I’ve ever made in my whole life”
It’s fair to say that Glen Powell has absolutely taken Hollywood by storm in recent years, and his notoriety and stock seem to be growing by the week. The 2020s have been particularly impressive concerning Powell, and he’s certainly been enjoying the decade with a string of hit movie performances.
Of course, Powell had to begin somewhere, and his career beginnings go back to a number of smaller roles in the likes of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and Fast Food Nation. The Texas-born actor had to bide his time for his moment in the spotlight, but in the mid-2010s, things finally started to heat up for him.
The comedy horror series Scream Queens profited from Powell’s prowess as an actor, and his emergence as a contemporary talent undoubtedly led to his most acclaimed roles thus far in Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You, Hit Man and Twisters. It was around the time of Scream Queens that Powell also featured in the favourite movie of his career so far, Richard Linklater’s teen comedy Everybody Wants Some!
Something of an unofficial sequel to Linklater’s legendary stoner comedy Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some! saw the director recruit his fellow Texan actor for one of the most important roles in his career. The film, also starring Blake Jenner, Zoey Deutch, Ryan Guzman, Tyler Hoechlin, Will Brittain and Wyatt Russel, tells of a group of college baseball players in 1980s Texas.
Speaking with Vogue, Powell once explained his feelings about how starring in Linklater’s 2016 effort announced himself as something of a “heartthrob” figure in American cinema. He noted, “I have no sense of any of these things, and I try to stay off of that stuff, because the internet is full of mixed reviews across the board. You’ll be very liked one day and very not liked the next.”
Powell went on to express his absolute delight at being able to star in a movie for Richard Linklater, especially one set in his native Texas. “I’m just trying to make movies that I’d want to see, and I think Everybody Wants Some! will be my favourite movie I’ve ever made in my whole life,” the actor admitted. “There’s not going to be a more charmed, lovely experience.”
According to Powell, he “sobbed” when he was shaving off the “thin moustache” that he had worn for his character. Evidently, the cast and crew had one hell of a time making Everybody Wants Some!, which goes to show the kind of atmosphere that Linklater creates for his team, especially in his comedy movies.
Describing his experience making the film Powell continued, “When it comes to making rom-coms, there’s no better way to show up on set than just being goofy and trying to make people laugh—and I come from a very goofy family. Anybody that knows me knows that my family is a bunch of goofballs. So I feel very comfortable in that space, making fun of myself a bit.”
Years later, Powell would again show up for Linklater in his Hit Man movie, showing that he loved working for the director, as so many actors reportedly do. In addition, Everybody Wants Some! was a truly important movie for Powell in that it carved out his path towards genuine stardom.
