Glen Powell Is Just Hoping He Gets to Wear Pants in His Next Movie
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Burt Reynolds’s 1972 centerfold in Cosmopolitan was, simply put, a major moment in pop culture. It was our magazine’s—any magazine’s—first time featuring a man in that kind of spread, and it cemented Burt’s status as one of America’s sexiest men. In homage, we’re launching the Cosmo Centerfold series, in which we take cheeky pics (and ask cheeky questions) of the hottest celebs of our time. To get the printable, hang-on-your-wall version, you’ll have to pick up an actual Cosmo to see it in the flesh (sorry, had to). Enjoy!
When I log onto Zoom to interview Anyone But You star Glen Powell, I'm greeted by the charmingly-unhinged Zoom name "Glenjamin Button." This seems perfectly on brand for the 35-year-old actor, who spent the majority of our call oscillating between self-deprecating humor (he asked me what I was up to that night, and when I said I was mostly just chatting with him, he said "I hope you have better plans after this!") and thoughtful self-reflection.
This is actually the third time I've interviewed Glen. The first was March 4, 2020. We spent a lovely half hour talking about Top Gun: Maverick, only for the entire world to shut down a week later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Almost two years after that, we redid our phone call to coincide with the movie's release, but it was still before it had actually come out. It was a blissful moment where neither of us could have predicted how much of a mega, box-office-breaking hit it would be, and how much he would shoot to the top of everyone's "I can't wait to see what he does next" list. His life has changed drastically since then, and he's still adjusting to it all. (But you'll be happy to know he's still just as charming on the phone.)
Luckily for all of us, he's using his newfound star power for good: to bring back the romcom. We got him to reflect on his love for the genre, why he hopes to be a little bit more clothed in his next project, and what his love life looks like now that he's, like, a famous person.
Starting with a big existential question: how do you feel about the current state of the romcom?
The romcom has now mostly gone to the streamers, which is completely fine, but I think it's taken away from the cinematic theatrical part where we don't just buy this as comfort food. The romcoms you and I grew up on were actually great movies. I watched My Best Friend's Wedding the other day and it's so fun. It's things like that, where you're not just making a romcom because that's a genre that needs to fill out a piece of an algorithm, but putting care into into it.
I mentioned to my Cosmo colleagues that I was interviewing you and my coworker wanted me to pass along: "Not a question, but tell Glen the world will begin to heal when he does another romcom with Zoey Deutch." Would you care to respond?
The world will begin to heal. I love that level of pressure. I mean, trust me, I see Zoey regularly. I saw Zoey last weekend. There is no doubt that Zoey and I are trying to find out what that thing is. Zoey and I had a blast making that movie. Chemistry is not a problem with the two of us. So we're trying to figure that out. But hopefully the world is healing sooner rather than later. But we're on it.
Good, I'll tell my colleague you said that. Who else are you dying to see do a romcom?
I'm working with Daisy Edgar-Jones right now, who is hysterical. We're working on Twister together, and I joke that literally half of Twister is just me crying-laughing next to her in a truck, trying to compose myself for the camera. She would smoke a romcom. If any studios are reading this, give Daisy a romcom.
Oh, she'd be great. Pivoting slightly, how does it feel to get almost-naked for a photoshoot for Cosmo?
I'm getting to this point where I've given the world a little too much skin in too short of a time. I really slutted out very quickly. I need to pump the brakes now. So you're gonna see me wearing a lot of turtlenecks this next year.
In Anyone But You, it's quite funny, because a lot of times I'll go into my trailer and the only piece of wardrobe is just a sock on a hook. That is my wardrobe for the day. You'll see a lot of me in the movie, and a lot of it for comedic effect. But ideally, when I go to the wardrobe department, I'm gonna ask for a little bit more cloth and material than I got on this one.
You're like, I need a full suit. Put me in as many sweaters as you can.
Can I just get pants, please? I'm ready for a new phase of clothing. Because it's also nice to eat on set. On Anyone But You I was like, Okay, I gotta take off my shirt again tomorrow. No pasta tonight.
For all the casting directors reading this, let Glen eat pasta. Please.
Like, a Glen Powell type, dough-y, out of shape, ready to eat, stands over a buffet. Let's start with that character intro.
When do you feel the most hot?
On a Sunday watching sports at my house with my friends, where I'm the host, cheering on a team that I love. When I'm getting to host other people and provide an experience, I think that's one of my strong suits. That gives me life and makes me feel a little bit hot. My best attribute is is bringing people together.
What is your version of a perfect date? Are you an activity guy? A dinner-out kind of guy, a movie date guy? Set the scene for me.
I am usually an activity guy, and sometimes I take it too far. Like, I have a hobby of aviation. Whether it's helicopters or airplanes or skydiving or whatever it is, I can be a little too much. I'm actually trying to do a better job in this new phase in my life to go as simple as possible on a first date, because it's really just about the person. It's not about the fluff. It's not about the activity. I'm trying to go okay, what's the most stripped-away dinner situation in which you actually can get to know somebody.
It's also nice on a first date in particular to give someone fewer variables to contend with, so they can just be themselves.
That's exactly it. I try sometimes to just drop people in the middle of fun things and see what happens. But I know now the kind of partner that I'm going to be able to be teammates with going forward on this thing. And you're not going to find that with an activity. You're gonna find it by getting to know somebody's history and their heart.
And eventually, hopefully, that person can do all the crazy, fun things with you. But at the start it's good to take it easy.
Yeah. And it's in those quiet moments where someone can feel the freedom to be themselves and talk about themselves that you'll get to know how they're going to navigate those crazy things.
I've been a student of the entertainment business for a long time, but I've never really been a student of love in the business. I'm starting to look around and try to understand what makes love survive in this business. It's tough, and very few people make it work and even the people that you think it can work for, a lot of times, it still fails. I'm trying to have what my parents have.
What have you discovered about making it work?
I think it's going to come down to mutual respect, mutual trust, and having communication that navigates all the uncertainties. I can't even tell you how many random things would get put on my plate in a given day that would drive most girls up the wall. As I'm trying to go forward, I'm like, Okay, what is necessary and what's unnecessary? And how can I communicate with a partner so that everybody feels like they know the game? Because at the end of the day, Hollywood is a game. But you want to be respectful and hear out your partner. I'm still learning how to be a great teammate. I'm still getting my bearings with a lot of this stuff.
The learning is never-ending, in my opinion. What's the best advice you've ever gotten about love?
The best advice I've gotten about love is from my parents. They said to fall in love with somebody with a sense of humor. Life's inherently going to throw a lot of hard things at you and as long as you can laugh it off, you're gonna be fine.
Especially because life is so naturally funny. Life is ridiculous.
That's one of the best skills that my family has taught me, especially moving out to L.A. and pursuing a career in which people throw a lot of rocks at you and people are can be pretty mean. This thing is not meant for everybody, but the fact that I can have a sense of humor even when shit gets kind of crazy is honestly the best weapon I have in my my arsenal.
We're devastatingly close to the end of our time, but I'm going to wrap up with a question that's a bit less serious than the meaning of love. Fuck, marry, kill: a martini, a glass of wine, and a beer.
You gotta fuck the martini. It's a hot drink. That's what it's begging for. I think you marry the glass of wine. I'm a big fan of of wine. Sharing a glass of wine with someone seems like a more serious thing. And the kill on the beer, trust me, that's what you do in Texas. You shotgun a beer. You "killed" the beer.
I appreciate that twist. So in this scenario you get all of them, you didn't have to kill anything.
Exactly. You're really just getting drunk, at the end of the day. That's what we're doing.
Buy tickets to Anyone But You here: BUY TICKETS
Lead image: Lee Top. Levi’s Jeans. Omega Watch.
Styling: Ted Stafford. Styling assistance: Rachel Tubbs. Grooming: Sydney Sollod/The Wall Group. Prop styling: Wooden Ladder. Production: Crawford & Co.
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