In 2018, Glen Powell got a sad call that led to some serious conversations with Tom Cruise about his role in Top Gun: Maverick. Tragically, he got that phone call the week of the Fourth of July, and it made that holiday the “worst.” Ultimately, everything worked out. And Powell’s post about this year’s Independence Day certainly proves that he’s doing fantastic.
Glen Powell Found Out He Lost The Rooster Role Right Before The Fourth Of July
At this point, it’s well-known lore that Glen Powell auditioned for Rooster in Top Gun: Maverick, but lost the role of Goose’s son to Miles Teller. What you might not know is that the Twisters actor found out about this on July 3. Recalling how that ruined his Fourth of July on The Rich Eisen Show, the actor said:
So, I auditioned for Rooster, felt great about it, but got a call – I remember it was July 3rd, 2018 – that I wasn’t going to be Rooster. And I’m a very patriotic guy; I was wearing literally an American flag tank top and aviators, when I got the call, and immediately was in the fetal position. Worst July 4th ever.
Well, that sucks. While I’m one to rewatch Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick with my Paramount+ subscription to celebrate the holiday, said movies certainly ruined it for Powell eight years ago.
However, it all turned out OK in the end, as he ended up playing Hangman in the beloved sequel. Before that happened, though, he had some important conversations with Cruise and Jerry Bruckheimer. It began with a phone call from the Maverick actor, and Powell was told they still wanted him in the movie. The Chad Powers star was still on the fence, though, so he went in for a meeting. Here’s how that conversation went:
I sat down with Tom in Jerry’s office, and we talked about what kind of career I wanted, and why I kind of didn’t want to do the movie now that I didn’t get that role. And Tom was like, ‘What kind of career do you want?’ I go, ‘You man, I’m trying to be you.’
That led to Tom Cruise giving Powell some advice that really stuck with him. Recalling the conversation he had with the lead of Top Gun: Maverick, the Anyone But You star explained:
And he goes, ‘Do you know how I do that?’ I go, ‘Yeah, you choose great roles.’ He goes, ‘No, I choose great movies, and I make the roles great.’ And it kind of changed my perspective on it, where even if you’re a great player on a great team, it’s better than being the star player on a losing team. It’s better to be on a championship team, and that’s one of the things Tom changed my perspective on all that, where even being a small part of the Top Gun ride has changed my life forever. So, I’m really glad I listened to him.
I think we’re all glad he listened too. As we all know, Powell did end up saying yes to Top Gun: Maverick, and his performance as Hangman helped his career go sky-high. Now, he’s spending his Fourth of July partying rather than mourning the loss of a role.
Glen Powell, His Loved Ones And His Girlfriend All Partied Together This Year
While the primary emotion on the Fourth of July in 2018 was sadness for Powell, 2025’s emotion seemed to be fun. The actor took to Instagram to post a photo dump about the day, calling it one “hell of a Fourth.” Take a look:
Well, this looks like an absolute rager, and one hell of a good time. It was pretty star-studded too. In the dump, Powell tagged his girlfriend Michelle Randolph (they went IG official with this post), Chord Overstreet, Jimmy Tatro, Zoey Deutch (they need to have an on-screen Set It Up reunion ASAP), Madelyn Cline, his mother, Cyndy Powell, his sisters, Lauren and Leslie and many more.
All that’s to say, I think Glen Powell had a much better Fourth of July than he did all those years ago.
However, I also bet he’s happy that sad call happened, because it's helped shape his career and life into what it is today. Since Maverick, Powell has turned into quite the leading man, starring in projects like Hit Man, Twisters, Anyone But You and Chad Powers. There’s a lot more on the way too. So, all in all, I’d say life (and the Fourth of July) was very worth celebrating the way he did this year with his loved ones.
