Glen Powell Says Studios ‘Underserve’ Some Parts of America

Glen Powell is an anachronism – a broad-appeal Hollywood hunk the likes of which we haven’t seen since Tom Cruise was dangling from ropes in sleek bank vaults. And he’s pushing for the types of movies that can bring Middle America to the multiplex.

“Having grown up in and around Texas, I’m aware there are vast parts of America that have been underserved in terms of movies that they want to see,” Powell told The Telegraph in an interview published on Saturday, July 13. “You sort of have New York and Los Angeles making the decisions about what gets made, but there’s a whole lot more audience out there you need to think about.”

Powell has covered all corners of Hollywood in his rollercoaster of a career. He started his career in children’s movies, starring in 2003’s Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

In his later years, he made the move to starring in comedies such as Set It Up and the Fox TV series Scream Queens before Sylvester Stallone cast him in the 2014 action sequel Expendables 3. Powell became a household name thanks to roles in Top Gun: Maverick and the rom-com Anyone But You.

Related: Who Auditioned for ‘Friday Night Lights’? Glen Powell, Emma Stone, More

Some modern-day stars did not get their “Texas Forever” moment on Friday Night Lights, despite auditioning for the iconic NBC show. FNL followed a fictional high school football team in the (also made up) town of Dillon, Texas from 2006 to 2011. The team and town were played by stars Connie Britton (Tami Taylor), Kyle […]

Anyone But You helped shape Powell’s view of Hollywood’s output and the way it’s letting audiences down.

“One of the things that I’ve realized recently is that when studios say a genre is dead, all it means is that there’s a huge opportunity, because a market is not being served,” he told The Telegraph. “The business stopped making romantic comedies, apparently, because romantic comedies weren’t making any money in theaters. But my belief is there’s no problem facing Hollywood that can’t be solved by a really good movie.”

The Twisters star is from the “vast part” of America that he hopes to serve with blockbusters from a bygone era. And there’s no questioning that that’s where Powell is most comfortable. After 15 years in Hollywood, Powell moved back to his home state of Texas this year.

“I think this is going to be good for my head, heart and soul,” he told The Hollywood Reporter at the time.

However, Powell packing his bags for Austin shouldn’t be taken as settling down. The actor told CBS Mornings in June that he barely has time to consider his future, particularly when it comes to his love life.

“This is a time where life is moving so fast that I don’t even know if I can bring someone into it in a healthy way even if I tried,” he shared. “I’ve realized there’s new aspects and new complexities to this life and this job that I didn’t even understand.”