Glen Powell has been open about the hard work he had to put in to break big in Hollywood and what it felt like to not land the part in Top Gun: Maverick that he initially wanted. Now, he’s a leading man, and he’s still learning. Most recently, he got real about the lessons he learned from the Anyone But You faux romance with Sydney Sweeney and movies he’s made that have flopped.
Glen Powell Reflected On His Anyone But You Faux Romance With Sydney Sweeney
These days, Glen Powell is dating Michelle Randolph, and Sydney Sweeney is with Scooter Braun. However, around the time of Anyone But You’s release, there were rumors that there was something between Powell and Sweeney, and the faux romance and allegations were a massive topic of discussion.
Now, years have passed, and Powell is reflecting on it all. In an Esquire profile, it's stated that the end of Powell’s relationship with Gigi Paris was hard, and it got worse when rumors about his and Sweeney's relationship off-screen were used to get people talking about their movie. He admitted that they did “lean into” the rumors “a bit.” However, after that, the actor worried he wouldn’t be able to settle, so he asked for his dad’s help. Here’s what Glen Powell Sr. told his son:
When you’re in a relationship with somebody, that’s a whole different thing from a relationship with somebody on set. [My son has] been able to learn how to separate the roles that he’s playing.
The Hit Man star’s dad went on to say that this issue is overcome by finding the right person, and well, now, his kid is with Randolph. Along with all that, the Top Gun: Maverick actor has made it clear that he won’t be doing something like what happened with Anyone But You again:
I’ve moved on to a new chapter of my life.
That new chapter features the Landman actress and a bunch of projects Glen Powell is working on. However, while he’s made his fair share of hits, he’s dealt with flops too, and he got real about those lessons as well.
Glen Powell Has Had Many Hits, But He Recently Opened Up About The Flops
While Glen Powell has cemented himself as a star thanks to movies like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters, some of his other films have flopped, like The Running Man. Edgar Wright’s movie was poised to be a big deal; however, it ended up making $69 million worldwide on a reported $110 million budget. Speaking about all this, and the behind-the-scenes drama going on at Paramount at the time, the actor explained:
They let go of an entire marketing department a month before our movie came out in the middle of a merger.
After that, Powell’s release at the top of the 2026 movie schedule, How to Make a Killing, didn’t really make a splash, and it’s sitting at 45% on Rotten Tomatoes. The actor says there were problems with the making of that film:
There were a lot of issues with that. There just was not enough time to do it properly. I look back on that one as an example of going, You know what, there’s no rush.
The story notes that there was a rush, though, because the actor is a very busy guy. So, what did he learn from all this? Well, his mom and sisters told him to “Set some boundaries. Protect your time.” So, that’s what the actor did, as he planned a break, got an assistant and “got selfish with both his time and his contact information.”
While going through situations like this is never easy, growing pains are necessary and lessons are good. It would seem Glen Powell is deciding to learn from all this as he moves forward and continues to show us why he’s one of Hollywood’s leading men.
