Glen Powell and the return of the Hollywood heartthrob.

With a few blockbusters under his belt, and a cute rescue dog who turned out to be a social media sensation, Twisters star Glen Powell is having his moment. 

The 35-year-old actor has officially entered his golden era, ushering in the return of the Hollywood heartthrob with every swish of his perfect Prince Charming hair.

When I speak of the enigmatic 'Hollywood heartthrob', I'm not just talking about a guy who is handsome. Being a heartthrob isn't just about looks — though, I'm not denying they help cement the status.

It's about gravitas, likeability, and a certain charisma they simply possess. Much like the Maybelline slogan says, they're born with it. You can't teach heartthrob, you simply are heartthrob.

Think Paul Newman, George Clooney, Harrison Ford, Keanu Reeves and Denzel Washington. Leonardo DiCaprio in the 1990s, specifically. Glen's Twisters predecessor, Bill Paxton, surely had a certain something.

One could argue we've got heartthrobs aplenty in Hollywood right now: Paul Mescal, Pedro Pascal, other people who were not cast in Gladiator II. Perhaps Jacob Elordi, Michael B. Jordan, Jeremy Allen White, or Austin Butler.

Now don't get me wrong, these actors are all heartthrob adjacent. Except now we call them "internet boyfriends" and talk about whether or not they look like a rat. 

But this is Glen's moment we're talking about — and I'm sorry to say he's leaving the rest of those boys in the dust.

Glen is an actor willing to commit, not just to his roles, but to press tours, red carpets, and eating spicy chicken wings on YouTube in the name of promotional content. He's not above it, he's all about it. You want him to stand in a wind tunnel to promote Twisters? Okay! You want him to dance to Apple by Charli XCX for a TikTok video? No worries, he'll give it everything he's got. You want him to shotgun a beer on stage? Say less! 

Plus, it doesn't hurt that Glen Powell could have chemistry with a brick wall.

Glen Powell, his tiny dog Hot Brisket, and his Twisters co-star Daisy Edgar Jones. Image: Getty.

Why is Glen the ultimate Hollywood heartthrob? I’m glad you asked, here we break down how Glen became the man of the moment. 

He adopted a tiny dog on the set of Twisters. Now, Hot Brisket is the star of every red carpet.

You pair Glen Powell and Daisy Edgar-Jones together on a red carpet, and you expect magic to happen; you expect all eyes to be on them. Who could look away? 

However, the pair have been upstaged while promoting Twisters, by none other than Glen's dog Hot Brisket. And they don't seem too mad about it. In fact, "Daisy and Brisket are very close" according to Glen. Which is good information to have!

Owning a tiny dog might not be key to the making of a heartthrob, but it's certainly contributed to Glen's charm across social media. Especially since the story of Glen and Hot Brisket is so sweet.

As it goes, Glen took a weekend break from filming in Oklahoma to fly to Los Angeles and adopt Brisket.

"The Twisters movie made me realise that my heart was soft enough to become a father," Glen said in a video shared to the Twisters Instagram account. "So I adopted an adorable puppy named Brisket... to keep me company in Oklahoma City — you know, since the tornadoes just don't cuddle the same."

Glen Powell and Hot Brisket are an iconic duo. Image: Instagram/@glenpowell

Brisket even scored his own digital cover of the Entertainment Weekly issue about Twisters. In conversation with EW, Glen further spoke of how 'fatherhood' had changed him.  

"I was going through a breakup at the time [with Gigi Paris] and I had always wanted a dog. It was something I thought about a lot," he told the publication.

Glen saw a photo of the terrier poodle mix on Instagram and, knowing adopting from a shelter can be difficult, he asked friends to vouch for him with the rescue organisation.

"I literally messaged saying, 'Please put in a good word for me. I sent them a heartbreakingly depressing video of me [saying] why I needed this dog."

Glen picked up Brisket, and brought him back to the set.

"He was crate training and all that stuff, so he was crying through the night. I felt like literally a new father, where I wasn't sleeping while shooting this movie. But Brisket would just kick it with every department head, and he would sit in my chair and just sleep. I had the most adorable picture of Brisket in my Twisters chair at the rodeo. But he really became sort of a set mascot on that movie. It's just adorable."

In true heartthrob fashion, Glen isn't above using his dog for thirst traps. He even joked about it on the red carpet at the premiere of Twisters. All we can say is, thank you Brisket for these beautiful, collage-worthy photos.

It can be so important - to me - when stars share content. Image: Instagram/@glenpowell

His on-screen chemistry is swoon-worthy. His off-screen chemistry will start an internet rumour.

When I first saw Glen starring opposite Zoey Deutch in Set It Up, I felt many things. 

The first being that this was truly a sensational romantic comedy, and it deserved more hype. Casting Lucy Liu and Taye Diggs as egotistical bosses in need of a romantic entanglement, orchestrated by their assistants, was genius.

The second was that I would happily watch anything starring Glen and Zoey. Their chemistry was palpable, radiating off screens and making me wish they'd team up to star in endless rom-coms, like this generation's own Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. 

I loved them together. But then... I loved him with everyone else, too. 

Glen Powell and Zoey Deutch were the ultimate rom-com duo in Set It Up. Image: Netflix.

His chemistry with Lily James in The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society charmed me, and left me rooting for him above the actual romantic lead (my apologies to Michiel Huisman). In his new film Hit Man, Glen's chemistry with Adria Arjona spawned many TikTok thirst edits.

His chemistry with Sydney Sweeney in Anyone But You was so strong there were affair allegations. Like, the internet rumour mill went into overdrive because they simply could not understand how these two could have such clear chemistry and not be in a relationship. They were not, by the way, because Sydney is happily engaged to her long-term partner Jonathan Davino.

Most recently, Glen and the wonderful Daisy Edgar Jones have had the world eating out of the palms of their hands on the promo trail for Twisters. 

We can't get enough of this duo, on and off the screen. Fans giggle with glee every time a new promotional video or red carpet moment hits the internet. Because he's every bit as charming in real life as he is on screen, forever staring into Daisy's eyes and being her biggest supporter.

And so, his charm appears to come down to one key thing: he actually likes women. Shock twist! 

This is going to sound parasocial of me, but isn't this whole article? But, really, Glen hangs on every word his female co-stars have to say. He laughs at their jokes, he remembers their likes and dislikes, he champions their careers. He's their biggest fan! 

We're so used to seeing men in Hollywood behave like they'd rather watch paint dry than have a conversation with a woman, that Glen caught us all off guard. Glen and Pedro Pascal are two of the only current Hollywood stars who seem like they would ask you about your day, and actually want to hear the answer. Groundbreaking? Kind of, yeah.

Glen and Daisy are number one in our hearts... and the box office. Image: Instagram/@daisyedgarjones.

Glen Powell has been called an overnight success. But his success has been 20 years in the making.

Those who are yet to be converted to 'the cult of Glen Powell' have been asking "where did this guy come from?" But he's far from being an overnight success.

The actor's first role was—and I kid you not—starring as "long-fingered boy" in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over in 2003.

Spy Kids 3 director Robert Rodriguez recently attended Glen's induction into the Texas Film Hall of Fame in Austin, where he reminisced on "discovering" the talented young star.

"I remember distinctly how surprised I was [by Powell] because we'd cast a bunch of people from LA. And then to fill out the other roles, we cast local actors who don't get as much experience. So you're just trying to find someone locally that won’t get nervous, that’ll give a performance that kind of measures up to the other actors," Rodriguez told IndieWire. 

"He walks in with a stature and his confidence and just nails it. And I was just so surprised he was so good that I said aside to him and his mom afterwards, 'What are you planning on doing?' He goes, 'I'm going all the way. I want to be an actor,' which was cool to hear from someone from Austin."

"So now, it's no surprise to see this. But he already had that quality at 14 and clarity of vision that that's what he was supposed to be. I just love that."

Glen's career began with a role in Spy Kids 3. Of course. Image: Miramax.

Spy Kids was followed by steady work as an extra or minor character until he scored a small part in Expendables 3. His first major role was as Chad Radwell in Scream Queens in 2015. But unlike some stars who look back upon their earliest gigs with vitriol—looking at you, Robert Pattinson and Jacob Elordi—Glen celebrates his first foray into Hollywood. 

Following Scream Queens, Glen's star continued to rise with a role in Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some, the historical drama Hidden Figures, the Netflix romantic comedy Set It Up and the adaptation of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. 

In 2018, he was cast in the Top Gun sequel, Top Gun: Maverick, and the rest, as they say, is history. 

Wonder what makes a movie star? The hosts of Mamamia Out Loud discuss why Glen Powell has that "it" factor. Article continues below.

Everybody wants some… of Glen.

As mentioned, one of Glen's first major roles was in Everybody Wants Some, Richard Linklater's follow up to his iconic film Dazed and Confused.

Linklater specifically sought out Glen, after first casting him in a small role in Fast Food Nation when he was 14.

"I remember when I was 14 and getting to be on that set," Powell told Us Weekly. "I literally had a line or two. It was like a nothing role, but for me it was a massive, massive deal to even say a line or two in a Richard Linklater movie."

Since then, Glen has kept in touch with Linklater and the pair even teamed up to write and produce his latest Netflix comedy, Hit Man.

"To flash forward almost 20 years later and to call him a collaborator and colleague and friend, it's just insane. So the full circle nature of this moment is definitely not lost on me. It is pretty surreal," Glen said.

Whether it's Linklater, or the Top Gun lead himself, Tom Cruise, it's clear Glen is beloved by everyone he works with. He's been casually picking up major mentors on the road to Hollywood stardom, and they won't mentor just anyone.

With all eyes on Glen, it's clear his heartthrob self is on the rise. And I think he's here to stay.

Tom Cruise and Glen Powell became fast friends on Top Gun: Maverick. Image: Instagram/@glenpowell

This article was originally published on July 16, 2024, and has been updated.

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