With a box-office smash success in Anyone But You and two new films releasing this summer, Glen Powell is a star on the rise, says Hit Man director Richard Linklater. To the actor’s parents, however, he’s getting too big for his britches.
On Wednesday, the Top Gun: Maverick star, 35, and his cast and crew members arrived at the Austin, Texas, premiere of their new film and agreed that. with both Hit Man and Twisters in the barrel, Powell’s summer and year are shaping up to be one for the books.
“It’s Glen’s night, it’s Glen’s summer it seems,” Linklater, 63, told ET’s Cassie DiLaura on Wednesday. “Might be the year of Glen.”
Powell’s mom and dad, Cyndy and Glen Powell Sr., were not about to let it all go to their son’s head, though, as they showed up to the hometown premiere to knock him down a few pegs in a playful way.
While the actor posed for photos, his parents stood behind him with signs poking fun at internet critics who say Hollywood is trying to shove the Scream Queen actor down viewers throats.
“Stop trying to make Glen Powell happen” Cyndy’s cardboard message read as her husband’s stated, “It’s never gonna happen.”
ET got Powell’s reaction to the hilarious PDA (public display of animosity) and he said that while it may seem concerning to those who don’t know his clan, it’s commonplace — and accepted — for the Powells.
“Well, my family — always my mom and my dad — are known for kind of trolling me a bit,” the Set It Up star shared, adding that it was inspired by mean tweets. “I don’t read tweets but my parents read tweets — so if you’re talking s**t, know that my parents are reading those tweets.”
“They thought that was going to be a funny idea so I loved it,” he added. “Even though they troll me, they support me in every in every way.”
The support this time around comes as Powell prepares to release Hit Man, in which he stars as Gary Johnson, a tech whiz who becomes an undercover police officer tasked with impersonating hit men in order to arrest the people that hire him. Things are running smoothly until he falls for a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants him to kill her husband — and that husband actually ends up dead.
Powell co-wrote the script with Linklater. The film is based on a real story and a 2001 Texas Monthly magazine article of the same name by Skip Hollandsworth.
On Wednesday, Linklater had nothing but praise to offer for his star and co-writer, saying his accolades could not be more well-earned. The film debuted at TIFF to rave reviews and was acquired by Netflix for $20 million.
“He’s worked so hard, no one deserves it more, you know? He’s just a really special talent and we’re just all so proud of him,” the Boyhood director said.
Linklater, who also worked with Powell on 2016’s Everybody Wants Some!!, continued, “He’s had a great career but he’s got an even bigger career ahead of him.”
Powell told ET that, in addition to feeling pride in the project, he is immensely grateful to be surrounded by his hometown and those who watched him grow up — many of whom showed up to support him at the premiere.
“The fact that I get to have this honor here in this building with my friends and family — I’ve got my kindergarten teacher here, I got my fifth-grade teacher here, my football coach, my creative writing teacher,” he said. “It’s like I have this team of people around me that have all been a part of this journey, so it’s really just so full.”
Hit Man is in select theaters on May 24 and streaming on Netflix June 7.
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