Though Glen Powell’s global fame was significantly boosted last year by his starring role in Anyone But You, many would consider Top Gun: Maverick to be his true Hollywood breakout.
In the hit sequel to the 1986 classic, Glen plays Hangman, an arrogant Navy pilot selected to undertake a high-profile mission led by Tom Cruise’s Maverick.
And now, in a new interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the actor opened up about how the casting was a saving grace — both for his career and his bank balance.
For context, Top Gun: Maverick was initially meant to be released on June 24, 2020, but its release date was pushed back several times because of the pandemic.
At the time, star and producer Tom Cruise was adamant that the $170 million production shouldn’t go directly to a streaming service, and as a result, the movie was put on hold for two years until they could release it in theaters in May 2022.
It goes without saying that this wound up being a great choice, with the movie eventually grossing $1.5 billion worldwide. However, as it was Glen’s biggest casting to date, the film’s delay left him pretty strapped for cash.
“I’d never made any significant amount of money on a movie, including Top Gun, and I was depleting a bank account to a point where my accountant was like, ‘This pandemic cannot last much longer,’” Glen said, recalling the two-year delay.
In 2022, Tom confirmed that letting Top Gun: Maverick go straight to streamers simply wasn’t an option for him, saying: “That’s not going to happen. Ever … I make movies for the big screen.”
It’s unclear whether Tom considered that the delay would inadvertently put some of his castmates in financial trouble. However, Glen seems not to have held it against him, having previously described the actor as “one of a kind.”