Glen Powell is well on his way to becoming a bona fide Hollywood leading man (if he's not there already), and the fellow actor the Top Gun: Maverick star has credited with paving the way for him and others may come as a surprise.
During an interview with GQ, Powell spoke about breaking into Hollywood, and why he believes it took so long for the "pendulum" to swing his way.
“I think Hollywood, for the most part, is kids on a soccer field chasing a ball. Robert Pattinson was probably the prototype. I remember when Chris Pratt broke out in Guardians of the Galaxy. There’s no doubt it really helped—not being brooding or dark. Like, I’m not Christian Bale. Christian Bale has a gravitas and a weight, and Pattinson had his thing. And when Pratt kind of appeared on the scene where he was doing things that were a little more silly and buoyant, that’s where I feel most at home. And that’s where I feel like I had a gear that is a necessary flavor in terms of Hollywood, and not a gear that a lot of guys can play.”
We'd be willing to bet that this is the first time Pratt has ever been given credit for changing Hollywood, but Powell may be on to something.
Pratt was certainly viewed as an outside-the-box choice to lead a major studio movie, and GOTG director James Gunn himself has admitted that he was hesitant to even meet with Pratt for the role of Star-Lord, as all he could envision was "the heavy guy on Parks and Rec."
"The famous story around it is that I didn't want to see Chris because I'm like, 'This Joker? No way.' And Chris had been turned down by a lot of things and he didn't want to have to do that again," Gunn said in a recent interview. "Sarah Finn, the casting director… I think she tricked me into it. She set up the meeting without telling me, but we were so desperate that time."
Pratt's performance was widely praised, and leading roles in the likes of Jurassic World, Passengers, The Tomorrow War, and many others followed. Frankly, some feel we might be seeing (and hearing) a little too much of the actor these days.
As for Powell, he has The Running Man coming up, as well as black comedy Huntington, and J.J. Abrams' mysterious fantasy flick Ghostwriter.
What do you make of Powell's comments? Do you agree that Pratt should be given his flowers for changing the way Hollywood views its leading men?
"In a near-future society, The Running Man is the top-rated show on television—a deadly competition where contestants, known as Runners, must survive 30 days while being hunted by professional assassins, with every move broadcast to a bloodthirsty public and each day bringing a greater cash reward.
Desperate to save his sick daughter, working-class Ben Richards (Glen Powell) is convinced by the show’s charming but ruthless producer, Dan Killian (Josh Brolin), to enter the game as a last resort. But Ben’s defiance, instincts, and grit turn him into an unexpected fan favorite—and a threat to the entire system. As ratings skyrocket, so does the danger, and Ben must outwit not just the Hunters, but a nation addicted to watching him fall."