Glen Powell started his film career with small roles in movies like Spy Kids 3D: Game Over, The Dark Knight Rises, The Expendables 3, and The Great Debaters. Then slowly, his career started to build upward as he starred in Richard Linklater’s spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused, Everybody Wants Some!! These days, he is best known as part of the cast of Top Gun: Maverick as Rooster’s rival Hangman. However, it turns out the way he got this massive role was extra unique, because it was the “hate” he had for his character that helped him get the part in the legacy sequel.
The character of Hangman resembles Val Kilmer’s Iceman from the first Top Gun movie in a lot of ways as he is a cocky pilot and rival to Rooster. The problem was that Hangman actor Glen Powell couldn’t stand his Top Gun: Maverick character. While speaking candidly with Austin Monthly, the actor explained why he had so much “hate” for Hangman at first, saying:
I trusted my instincts and didn’t apologize. I was just like, ’I hate this guy.' I believed so much that the character wouldn’t work that I fearlessly stated my point of view.
Powell didn’t like the idea of someone who got into the Naval Academy due to family connections. Originally, the Hidden Figures actor was in consideration for the role of Goose's son Rooster, which would have been second billing to Tom Cruise. However, Powell got passed over for the role, and it was given to Miles Teller instead. As the Set it Up star was seemingly disappointed by not landing the starring role, he made recalled a joke tweet after that could have helped him land Hangman as he posted about taking down his Tom Cruise posters. In the end, the actor was cast in Maverick, and he's spoken at length about how much he loved making the movie, despite not liking his character at first.
A meaningful piece of advice Cruise gave to Powell to further convince him to play Goose’s rival ended up inspiring the Stuck in Love actor to do something about the role he had lukewarm feelings about. After all, the Risky Business actor told Powell that he needed to choose great movies over great roles, and the actor could make the characters great. This talented performer continued to say that while walking away from Hangman could have been an option, he found a way to make the role work for him.
Instead of missing out on the experience of a lifetime, I had a serious impact on the way the movie came out.
Glen Powell ended up making qutie an impact on the role, he even got a say in his call sign. The actor said he helped change his character’s original call sign, which was initially called “Slayer,” because he felt that the name was off since it was more of an Air Force nickname. With his character being in the Navy and after hanging around with Naval aviators, he came up with “Hangman.” After that, it was all about learning to embrace the cockpit-maneuvering role he won.
With Top Gun: Maverick’s star and co-producer Tom Cruise working closely with Glen Powell, he was almost like a mentor to the young actor. In fact, another piece of advice that the Maverick actor gave the Hangman actor to help him ease into the role was to “lean into the douchebaggery” because his character isn’t discovering his skills as a pilot like everyone else, and he's not trying to be likable. This advice clearly worked as Powell gave a standout performance in his role. Another person who thought this is the director Richard Linklater, who explained to Austin Monthly what impressed him about Powell’s performance as Hangman, saying:
It’s really hard to stand out in a Tom Cruise movie. So it was great to see him not fade into the woodwork.
It’s absolutely a feat. Powell and Richard Linklater have a long history together as they've collaborated on Fast Food Nation, Apollo 10 1⁄2: A Space Age Childhood and the comedy Everybody Wants Some!! And, their collaboration is not over yet, as Linklater asked Powell to help write the movie Hitman with him. Now, the performer is set to be Hitman’s lead actor, producer, and co-writer, a first for him. So hearing Linklater compliment Powell's Top Gun performance seems to carry a lot of weight.
As Top Gun: Maverick became a box-office mega-hit, you could argue it was one of the best decisions Glen Powell made to stay with this hit sequel. This actor was able to make a name of his own with Tom Cruise by his side because he said yes to a character he didn't love at first.
Top Gun: Maverick is available to watch with a Paramount+ subscription.
