Why Denzel Washington wants credit for Glen Powell’s acting career: ‘You owe me’

If it wasn't for Denzel Washington, the world might've never known about Glen Powell.

On the May 19 episode of “Sunday Sitdown with Willie Geist,” Powell reflected on his early acting career, including doing small-time roles like playing Danger Dude in 2006’s “The Safe Side: Internet Safety.”

“We all get our start somewhere,” he joked of his “Napoleon Dynamite knock-off” character.

Powell, who considered putting acting on the back-burner, noted that things seemed to change after meeting Washington on the set of the 2007 the historical drama “The Great Debaters." At that time, Powell was still a senior in high school.

“Denzel Washington really pushed me out of the nest a bit and said, ‘You should double-down on yourself. You should give this a shot,’” he recalled.

Years later, after Powell made a name for himself in Hollywood, he said that Washington joked about receiving credit for his success.

“I’ve seen him since. He’s like, ‘You owe me. You owe me,’” Powell said, laughing.

Thanks to his latest film, "Anyone But You," also starring Sydney Sweeney, Powell has made a name for himself. According to Deadline, the rom-com is now the top-grossing R-rated comedy domestically since 2015 and the highest-grossing R-rated rom-com globally since 2016’s “Bridget Jones’s Baby.”

Powell loved working with Sweeney so much that he says they’re probably going to do something again in the future.

“My agent’s going to hate me for saying this, but we are reading (scripts),” he said.

However, fans have a lot to look forward to until then. The "Hidden Figures" star is already preparing to release his next film, "Hit Man" that's set to hit theaters on May 24. In this film, Powell plays a professor who moonlights as a hitman of sorts for his local police department.

He says the film is loosely based on the life of the real Gary Johnson, who Powell discovered while reading an article in "Texas Monthly" magazine.

"Immediately I was like, 'Oh, this is a fascinating character,'" he said.

Powell worked on bringing the movie to life with famed director Richard Linklater. On the film, Powell is credited as being a co-writer, co-producer and a leading man.

While thinking back about how far he's come in his career, Powell told Geist that his success feels "surreal."

"I think that’s why I’m really taking in this moment right now. I’ve always kind of just kept my head down and you just kind of keep at it. And now I’m getting to sit down with people like you and really talk about this stuff in a way that’s — yeah, it’s been really amazing and surreal," he said.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com