Known for his confident charisma and star quality, Glen Powell was so impressed by Dustin Hoffman early in his career that he had a blast reading a script with the legendary actor.
Powell shared this humbling story on a recent appearance on “Hot Ones.” “My first week[in Hollywood]I was sitting next to Dustin Hoffman at dinner,” he recalled. “He saw a movie I made called “The Great Debaters,” and the fact that he saw it was shocking. I thought, “This is the coolest moment of my life.”
Mr. Hoffman praised Mr. Powell’s performance and said, “Something good happened. Let’s keep in touch.” “The Graduate” actors followed suit. “Literally a few days later, Dustin Hoffman called me at home,” Powell says. “And I’m losing my mind. I’m like, ‘This is so cool,’ and[Hoffman]is like, ‘I’m going to invite you to my office and I want you to read something.'”
Mr. Powell accepted the invitation. He visited Hoffman and was given a few pages to read together, but things quickly turned sour. “I started reading them and I was so in awe that Dustin Hoffman was sitting across from me,” Powell said. “He’s one of my favorite actors of all time. As I was reading the book, I saw the life draining out of his eyes and I was like, ‘This guy really sucks.'” And I was like, ‘Oh no.’ ”
The situation got even worse. “I’m looking at him and I’m losing him,” Powell continued. “And I was like, ‘Yeah, you’re losing him,’ and then I look back and I’m losing him even more. And I went home so devastated.”
Powell went on to explain that in subsequent auditions, he was able to overcome his star-gazing tendencies by becoming more accepting of actors of all levels as players and performers in pursuit of something fun.
“What you start to realize is that this business is all play. When you start seeing them as like legends, you start seeing them as collaborators who are just trying to bring magic to audiences around the world. You know?” he said. “I think that’s the difference. I don’t think the excitement for this business has waned yet, but my view has.”
Powell has yet to appear in a movie with Hoffman, but he became a household name after sharing the screen with Tom Cruise in 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick. Since then, he has co-starred with Sidney Sweeney in the hit romantic comedy “Anyone But You” and starred in the adventure summer blockbuster “Twisters.” He is currently starring in “The Running Man,” directed by Edgar Wright and based on the novel by Stephen King.
Read Powell’s full “Hot Ones” interview here.
