While walking the Golden Globes red carpet, Glen Powell was recently asked about the constant online comparisons to Tom Cruise, particularly the growing belief that the Anyone But You and Twisters star could be on track to become “the next Tom Cruise.”
Having appeared in Top Gun: Maverick together, Cruise has become a mentor for Powell, and aside from The Running Man recent box office underperformance, Powell's recent run of critically and commercially successful films has many thinking that, between Powell’s movie-star charisma, leading-man looks, and guidance from Cruise himself, Powell might one day step into the space currently occuppied by "the last movie star."
While on the red carpet, Powell understandably shied away from that notion.
"There is only one Tom Cruise," said Powell at the Golden Globes. "And anyone that tries to recreate those footsteps, that's a losing enterprise. But I will say, to have Tom as a friend, as a mentor, as a guy that's really in every single phase of this business, which can be pretty disorienting- for the busiest guy in Hollywood, he's the most present guy who always shows up. And I'm very, very grateful to call him a friend."
Cruise reportedly went to bat for Powell’s casting in Top Gun: Maverick, personally pushing to have him brought into the project and even helping retool the “Hangman” character to better play to Powell’s strengths. From that point on, Cruise has effectively taken on the role of Powell’s Hollywood mentor.
With Cruise, Denzel Washington, Brad Pitt, and Leonardo DiCaprio all now in the latter stages of their storied careers, Hollywood has been actively hunting for the next generation of actors to carry the torch and become the new class of “classic” movie stars, actors who can open a film on name recognition alone, not the strength of a superhero brand.
For many observers, Cruise appears to have identified his own successor in Powell.
There are even rumors that Cruise wants Powell to take over the Mission: Impossible franchise whenever Cruise finally confirms that he's no longer going to portray Ethan Hunt.
Powell has frequently described the informal “film school” Cruise put him through, covering everything from handling movie-star fame to the nuts and bolts of performing stunts.
For instance, on The Running Man, Powell disclosed that he had numerous hour-long chats with Cruise, primarily centered on how to "run cool" on camera.
"Film yourself running on camera as soon as possible. You don’t look as cool as you think you do,” Powell recounted on his prep with Cruise for the '80s sci-fi remake. "When you get hit on screen, you are getting hit," Cruise also told him.