Run Your Own Race

How GLEN POWELL flipped disappointment into success.

- EVAN ROMANO

Tank by Calvin Klein; shorts by Rhone; sneakers by Adidas.

WHEN GLEN POWELL heard there was going to be a Top Gun sequel, he wanted in. That's because once his father showed a ten-year-old Powell the original Top Gun-which became his favorite movie, starring the man who would become his favorite actor, Tom Cruise he was inspired to pursue acting. Powell started learning how to behave like a pilot months before his Maverick audition, heading to California's Edwards Air Force Base to live with aviators. His sights were set on the role of Rooster, the son of Maverick's gone-but-not-forgotten best friend, Goose, from the 1986 film.

After those months of prep, he tried out for Maverick with producer Jerry Bruckheimer, director Joseph Kosinski, and Cruise himself. "I felt like I really delivered, and when I didn't get it, I was absolutely heartbroken," says Powell. "I got the news on July 3, and on July 4, which is pretty much my favorite holiday-I'm a very patriotic dude from a very patriotic family-I was basically in the fetal position the entire day." Miles Teller landed the part.

Powell impressed the brain trust, however, and they did want him for another role, a mysterious character called Hangman. But Powell's heart was still set on Rooster, and he wasn't sure any other part in the movie was the right fit. It's probably a scenario you've been in: You want something badly, but for one reason or another it doesn't work out. Is it worth doing something different, or is it better to just move on?