Blows Us Away

With the popcornperfect Twisters about to touch down, he's got summer locked up

- ANDREA SIMPSON & LEANNE ACIZ STANTON

Maverick. Anyone But You. Hit Man. And now, Twisters. "I promise I'm gonna disappear really soon," Glen Powell jokes to Us of his recent string of mass-appeal projects. (Please, no!) Blessed with inviting green eyes, a jacked bod-your eyes have probably already drifted toward the selfie at far right and charm to spare, the 35-year-old Texan has become one of Hollywood's most sought-after leading men. Send the thank-you to his parents.

"The greatest gift they gave me is letting me chase the passions I wanted to chase," he says of Glen Sr. and Cyndy. "If I was sitting in the outfield picking dandelions [and thinking], 'Yeah, I'm not really sure I'm meant for [baseball],' they let me give it up. I'm just really grateful to my parents for not trying to deter me from a job that has such a low success rate!" Not these days not the way Powell performs. Twisters (in theaters July 17) is destined to be a megahit just like its 1996 predecessor, Twister.

Here, Powell talks taking on tornadoes and taking Hollywood by storm.

What inspired you to sign on for this Mother Nature-runamok film?

One of the joys of this job is to return to worlds that got you into this business in the first place. Twister is such a visceral experience, but it's [also] about these people and this real community: They're just cowboys chasing the wind.

There's a sense of freedom, curiosity and fascination that permeates that movie.