Over the past decade, Glen Powell has become a rising star in the entertainment industry. Although the actor began his career in the early 2000s, he worked his way up with small and supporting roles until the late 2010s. From Top Gun to Twister to The Super Mario Galaxy Movie, Powell has joined some of the most iconic franchises that cater to vastly different audiences. Since his breakout in 2018, the young actor has dived headfirst into showcasing his range, giving some of the best performances of the decade in both comedic and dramatic capacities.
Of course, Powell is a long way away from being considered one of the best actors of all time, but his recent success has given him ample momentum. Considering he’s founded his own production company called Barnstorm and garnered a few critical writing credits, Powell’s career is set up for an even brighter future, as the performer has proven he can handle almost every aspect of the filmmaking process. Yet, while there are plenty of exciting, highly-anticipated roles in his immediate future, many of Glen Powell’s best projects are already time-tested favorites.
10
Chad Powers
Role: Chad Powers/Russ Holliday
Unsurprisingly, one of Powell’s most recent roles has been his most experimental— for better and for worse. Sports comedy Chad Powers centers on Glen Powell’s Russ Holliday, a talented quarterback whose career goes off the rails after he falls from grace during a pivotal championship game. To return to the field undetected, he takes on a new identity as the titular Chad Powers, wearing facial prosthetics and a mangy wig to hide in plain sight. In order to reclaim his athletic glory, however, Russ (as Chad) has to try out for a middling team at a college in the deep south.
Glen Powell’s Hit 6-Part Hulu Series Officially Returns This Year
Movie star Glen Powell is heading back to the small screen later this year for his hit sports comedy, which debuted in fall 2025 on Hulu.
From there, Chad Powers devolves into three loosely connected genres: uplifting sports drama, quirky rom-com, and slapstick comedy. Russ needing to protect his disguise makes for some contrived hijinks, but Powell’s grounded performance is what saves the show, making the main character genuinely sympathetic when he needs it most. Chad Powers season 2 is already confirmed, and the next installment will likely be even better, as the show will have time to settle into a more cohesive identity.
9
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
Role: Mark Reynolds
Lengthy title aside, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society is one of the most underrated movies on Netflix. Starring Lily James as a powerhouse English author named Juliet Ashton and Michiel Huisman as literature lover Dawsey Adams. The film is a sweeping historical romance set against the backdrop of WWII’s immediate aftermath, and Glen Powell’s Mark Reynolds only strengthens the immersion.
Mark is a brash American military official who, while not being an outright antagonist, serves as a reminder of societal norms— and, in turn, its political constraints. The version of Juliet that wanted to marry Mark is, for all intents and purposes, dead by the end of the film, reborn as a radical member of the eponymous book club and Dawsey’s one true love. Admittedly, Glen Powell doesn’t steal the show in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, but his character was nonetheless indispensable to the overarching narrative.
8
Everybody Wants Some!!
Role: Walt “Finn” Finnegan
There have been numerous infamous films centered on baseball, from A League of their Own to Benchwarmers, but Everybody Wants Some!! is all too often forgotten. Set in 1980s Texas, Everybody Wants Some!! is a fever dream in faded dreams, incorporating staples of late 70s/early 80s culture with a few notable curveballs.
Everybody Wants Some!! is considered a spiritual successor to creator Richard Linklater’s 1993 film Dazed and Confused.
The criminally overlooked sports movie touts a talented ensemble cast, but Powell’s Walt “Finn” Finnegan is one of the best. By most metrics, Powell was still a fresh face upon the release of Everybody Wants Some!!, making Finn’s character feel realistic and lived-in rather than a comedic caricature. While the film is a modern cult classic, it deserves far more attention, beginning with praise for Powell’s scene-stealing performance.
7
Scream Queens
Role: Chad Radwell
Scream Queens is a masterclass in camp, and it’s widely regarded as one of Ryan Murphy’s best creations. The satirical slasher follows a cliché sorority led by the wealthy and vapid Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts), but her perfect life is thrown into disarray by the return of a serial killer in a devil costume.
The dark comedy only aired two seasons, but Glen Powell’s Chad Radwell was an instant fan-favorite. Introduced as Chanel’s on-again/off-again boyfriend and frat leader, Chad’s audacious humor and frat boy mannerisms fit perfectly in the grand pastiche of slasher horror archetypes. To date, it’s one of the few instances of Powell playing a truly unlikable character, but viewers love to hate him so much, fans are still calling for a Scream Queen revival.
6
Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous
Role: Dave
Netflix’s Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous is far from Powell’s most renowned project, but his voice acting as recurring paleontologist Dave. The animated sci-fi adventure seamlessly fits into the Jurassic Park franchise’s broad chronology, taking place concurrently with Jurassic World (2015) and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018).
Voice acting always tests an actor’s true mettle, and Powell passes with flying colors. His character is a recurring treat, despite only appearing in three out of five seasons alongside Jameela Jamil’s Roxie. Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous isn’t a series that changed the trajectory of Powell’s career, but it’s still an impressive testament to his range.
5
Hidden Figures
Role: John Glenn
Based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s Hidden Figures: The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Who Helped Win the Space Race, the 2016 film Hidden Figures explores the lives of three Black women who were invaluable to NASA’s Mercury program. Katherine Goble Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), and Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer) are each brilliant minds, but rampant systemic racism attempts to diminish their efforts, rendering them hidden, as the title suggests.
Glen Powell does a phenomenal job emulating astronaut John Glenn, but it’s important to note he isn’t the film’s true hero. What makes Hidden Figures so popular and so lasting is its key trio, who devote their lives to scientific advancement— even if Powell is purposely employed as some wildly effective eye-candy.
4
Twisters
Role: Tyler Owens
In the years since the original Twister premiered, disaster movies have decidedly fallen out of vogue. Nevertheless, 2024’s Twisters is an admirable attempt to revive the genre, bolstered by the performances of Glen Powell (Tyler Owens), Daisy Edgar-Jones (Kate Carter), and ensemble members like Anthony Ramos (Javi) and David Corenswet (Scott).
Serving as a standalone sequel to the 1996 original, Twisters follows Kate, Tyler, and the rest of their motley crew as they chase dangerous tornadoes, be it for internet fame or the sheer adrenaline rush. The subtle romance between Tyler and Kate never pulls too much focus, but viewers latched onto the subplot with a vice grip. Twisters may not have outperformed its predecessor, but Powell’s magnetic presence was a force of nature of its own.
3
Hit Man
Role: Gary Johnson
It’s easy for films based on true stories to instantly bore an unforgiving audience, but Hit Man hides its realism behind a veil of creative freedom, taking the true life and career of Gary Johnson and translating it into a romantic black comedy for the ages. Powell stars as Gary, a meek professor who volunteers to help his local police station run sting operations. When his churlish coworker is suspended, however, Gary is forced to take his place as a fake hit man.
Powell transforms into a vast array of fake killers, ranging from a Patrick Bateman impersonator to a Slavic assassin who only moves half of his mouth. The offbeat romance is a major selling point, but arguably the best part of Hit Man is seeing Powell fully embody every character he plays, no matter how fleeting their role is.
2
Set It Up
Role: Charlie Young
Whereas Hit Man is a tongue-in-cheek, subversive love story, Set It Up is a modern classic and, without question, one of the best rom-coms of the century. Glen Powell’s Charlie and Zoey Deutch’s Harper are two dedicated assistants who, after one too many late nights at the office, agree to play matchmaker for their bosses in the hopes of reclaiming their own personal lives.
What follows is a comedy of errors, a few genuinely touching moments of vulnerability, and enough charisma to spare. Even the staunchest rom-com haters must admit that Powell and Deutch are a dynamic duo, and they bring a fairly formulaic script to life with a captivating push-and-pull that rivals many titles in the romantic comedy hall of fame.
1
Top Gun: Maverick
Role: Jake “Hangman” Seresin
Glen Powell’s “best” role is an inherently subjective measure, but Top Gun: Maverick is irrefutably the title that boosted his career into what it is today. As the long-awaited follow-up to 1986’s Top Gun, the sequel had massive shoes to fill, and Top Gun: Maverick‘s success at the box office speaks for itself.
Alongside Tom Cruise’s return as Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, the 2022 film introduced a new generation of pilots, including Powell’s Jake “Hangman” Seresin and Miles Teller’s Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw. The pair toe the line of rivalry and camaraderie, a complex dynamic that not everyone can pull off. Assuredly, Glen Powell was the only actor who could’ve played Hangman, but there are even more perfectly-tailored roles in his future.
- Release Date
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May 27, 2022
- Runtime
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130 Minutes
- Director
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Joseph Kosinski
