Glen Powell’s acting career is white-hot. Catapulted by his breakout role in 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick,” it seems he’s been ubiquitous ever since.
Deep down, though, 36-year-old Powell is an Austin native, a third-generation Longhorn and a football fan at heart. So, naturally, he was in the Cotton Bowl for Saturday’s 121st edition of the Red River Rivalry between Texas and Oklahoma.
To promote the November release of his latest movie, “The Running Man,” Powell sat down with The Dallas Morning News in the Cotton Bowl shortly before kickoff. He offered a friendly smile and handshake, removed his white Stetson and cheerfully sat down to discuss two of his two favorite topics.
The Longhorns and acting.
Sports Roundup
Here is the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.
Q: I know you were born and grew up in Austin and that both sets of your grandparents, and your parents went to UT, as did you, but can you recall when you first attended a Longhorn football game?
Powell: I’m trying to think. I remember I was part of the University of Texas String Project when I was a kid. I played violin. I was probably seven years old. And if I played violin, and I went to every practice, I got to go to a UT game. So I remember my parents letting me go to, I think it was a UT-Rice game.
I was really, really young. But the thing about it is, I’ve always been attracted to really passionate people. And there’s nobody more passionate than the Longhorn fan base, you know? And I think the energy around Austin, we didn’t grow up in a town where there’s a professional football team. It’s all college sports, all about the University of Texas, right?
Everything in my house — and I mean everything — was burnt orange. It was just the color of every season.
Q: What is your favorite part about being a celebrity Texas fan, as opposed to being a regular-Joe Longhorn fan. Going to games as a celebrity and being on the sideline?
Powell: That’s a new frontier for me. I gotta say, it’s one that comes with a lot of fun perks, but also a lot responsibility. Like, I remember when I did College Game Day for the first time, I called [Matthew] McConaughey, and said, ‘Hey, like, what does this look like? What do I need to know about this?’
And he just said, ‘You represent the university now, how you carry yourself, how you present yourself, you represent the university.’ So he said ‘Take that as an important responsibility.’ And I really appreciated that, because at the end of the day, McConaughey has done such an amazing job for this place. And we’re two very different flavors, but anything I can do to help out, I will.
The University of Texas has given so much to me and so much joy to my family and to me that I always want to reward the place that has such a special place in my heart. But, yeah, it’s been really fun, I gotta say. For a guy that’s grown up on Texas football and has dreamed of being, you know, the guy that’s outside the stadium and just trying to figure out a way to get in, to be able to be on the sidelines and things like that, it’s a dream come true.
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Q: About “The Running Man”: Understand, I’m a sports writer so I’m asking this from a sportswriter perspective, but after seeing the trailer, it looks like an action-packed film that appears to have you doing a lot of your own stunts.
Powell: Yes, Running Man is very stunt-heavy. That was the first thing that when I read the script, I was like, ‘OK, I get my ass kicked. This entire movie is going to be really tough.’ And talking to other friends of mine who had starred in big action movies, they’re like, ‘Just prepare. It’s like if you were getting hit, you’re falling off of something and it hurts. And you’re doing it 12 to 13 times.’ You know what I mean? They’re like, just prepare for war as best you can. Take care of yourself.’
I feel like I’m a pretty tough individual. I was like, ‘Man, by the time I got to the end of ‘Running Man,’ I was beaten up and [exhausted].
Q: Watching the trailer, it looked like it was nonstop.
Powell: But the fun part about it is, for me, I’m such a fan of action movies. I’m such a fan of [“Running Man” director] Edgar Wright. This movie delivers on every level in terms of being like one of those.
It’s like an action movie, but it’s got a lot of heart. It’s just relentless and shot by like a prestige filmmaker. It’s based on a Stephen King book. It’s got all the ingredients to be something really great. And I’ve now seen it five or six times. I’ve been in the editing room for the past few months, and it is so good. We just played it for all the theater owners the other night. They just lost their minds.
Q: Your career has really taken off, but my guess is most people know you most of all from “Top Gun: Maverick”
Powell: It reminded me about way the theater owners felt about Maverick. Like when they walked out, they were like, ‘Oh, we have a winner.’ It felt pretty good.
Q: What is your favorite Red River Rivalry memory?
Powell: My favorite UT-OU memory is, I mean, I build my year around Texas-OU. This is my favorite day of the year. This is my Christmas. And even if I can’t make it in person, I always make sure and bring people together because this game for me, is really about like bringing my favorite Longhorns together and celebrating a great rivalry. I think it’s the greatest rivalry in sports.
And I was shooting “Hitman” a couple years ago in New Orleans, and I brought the whole crew together to watch, I think when we took them down 49-zip, if I’m not mistaken. But also, I got to come here my freshman year. It was magical. And this is just this game for me, just represents what college football is about. Great matchups, great rivalry.
I love the fact that we’re meeting equidistant between these two schools in Dallas, Texas. And it just is one of those great moments in sports every year that you can look forward to. And no matter where anybody sits in terms of ranking, it’s always a good game. So this is one I look forward to, and I’m strapping in for today. It’s gonna be a ride.
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