Glen Powell On Landing Bigger And Better Roles: 'Anyone Who Believes They're Going To Be Top Dog Forever Has Not Studied How Hollywood Works'

There’s no ifs, ands or buts about it, Glen Powell has been on a roll for years now. While he’s been working consistently for over a decade, it was playing Hangman in the Top Gun: Maverick cast that kicked off his rise to A-list fame. Now, he’s been dominating, with projects on the 2025 movie schedule and 2025 TV schedule. However, he knows moments like these don't last forever, so he opened up about getting bigger and better roles and the mentality it takes to try and maintain a career in this industry.

In 2025, Glen Powell released the comedy Chad Powers, which was recently renewed for Season 2 and can be streamed with a Hulu subscription, and the big Edgar Wright action movie, The Running Man, which is based on Stephen King’s novel. Both we big deals, and further solidified the actor as a leading man in Hollywood. Now, he has opened up about that success and what comes after it. He knows it’s not something that lasts forever, so he’s doing what he can to do the best work possible, as he told Vanity Fair:

Of course, some stars have been stars for decades and have maintained consistent success. However, careers for most actors ebb and flow, and there are plenty of stories that feature a performer reaching incredible levels of fame, then not being heard about for a while. Then sometimes they rise again, and other times they don’t.

Think about Brendan Fraser; he was a major leading man in the late '90s and early '00s thanks to movies like The Mummy. Then, there was a period of time where we didn’t hear much about him and his work. He had a career comeback, tough, in the 2020s -- the Brenaissance was upon us, he won an Oscar for The Whale, and he has continued to work consistently since.

It’s also common for actors to have one big hit, then work consistently on lesser-known properties. Then sometimes they break big again. Take Noah Wyle, for example. He was a household name thanks to ER and got many Emmy nominations for it. Then, it took 25 years for The Pitt star to get back to that award show.

Those are two stories of stellar comebacks; however, sadly, not every actor can do that or consistently maintain success.

As Powell pointed out, nothing is guaranteed in Hollywood, and in a lot of ways, success isn’t something that can easily be predicted, controlled, or maintained. So, he’s doing what he can to ensure a long and fulfilling career, which means working as hard as he can. He plans to keep doing that, too, because he wants a very long career. In his words:

Well, it certainly seems like he’s well on his way to doing just that. After quite a few great years – with Anyone But You in 2023, Twisters and Hit Man in 2024, and Chad Powers and The Running Man in 2025 – he’s proven his staying power. Now, the projects he’s got coming up seem to imply that he’ll be around for a very, very long time.

I think his mentality about fame and the roles he can get play into that, too. He’s got a good mindset, and he works very hard, and with those two things, it seems like he’s got what it takes to not just make it in Hollywood, but last in Hollywood.