The MAKING of a MODERN MOVIE STAR

Being a leading man in Hollywood requires a certain amount of alchemy.

- BY JAIME HARKIN & ANDREA SIMPSON

There's a formula, sure — looks, humor and charm, plus a dash of emotional availability — but it’s hardly an exact science. For decades, the top slots have been filled by the usual suspects: Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Tom Cruise. And while there’s no question the veterans have still got it, there's clearly room for some fresh faces.

Enter Glen Powell. The handsome, captivating 37-year-old has been proving he has what it takes since his breakout role in 2022's Top Gun: Maverick (alongside Cruise himself, who's taken Powell under his wing). He’s got star power and acting chops — take his notable turns in the 2023 rom-com Anyone But You and 2024's Hit Man — he’s hot and charming (just google any red carpet or late-night talk show appearance) and he’s hustling hard — with six major projects on deck, including a Judd Apatow comedy about a country music star that he’s cowriting, producing and will also sing in.

Off camera, Powell keeps it refreshingly real. The down-to-earth Texan still hangs out with his childhood crew and is famously tight with his family — they're the main reason he moved back to his hometown of Austin in 2024.

(His parents, Glen Sr. and Cyndy, often attend his premieres and pop up in his films; in April, a video of him crying at his sister Leslie's wedding went viral.) Oh, and Powell is also doting dog dad to Brisket, the rescue Chihuahua mix he brings along just about anywhere (see: the cover of this magazine).

With his latest movie, The Running Man — a high-octane remake of the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film — out Nov. 14, Powell is poised for a new level of stardom. But don’t expect it to go to his head. “At the end of the day, one of my favorite parts about this job is that you get to be on a set with a bunch of talented people,” he told Us when asked how he feels about his growing popularity at the Oct. 30 press junket for