Glen Powell is in a league of his own. Or rather, each leading man is to an extent.
Powell weighed in on a comparison between himself and fellow star Ryan Gosling after an unnamed Hollywood producer told The Wrap that Powell appeals to all genders at the box office. The producer seemingly overlooked Gosling’s diverse filmography, and marginalized both actors into gender binaries.
“Unlike an actor like Ryan Gosling whose appeal is mostly limited to female audiences, Glen appeals to both females and males,” the producer said, adding that a wide range of “audiences now go to movies to see” Powell who recently led “Twisters” and is set to star in the “Running Man” remake from Edgar Wright. The actor will also appear in college football comedy series “Chad Powers.”
Powell simply shrugged off the Gosling mention on Twitter.
“Gosling is a legend,” Powell tweeted. “I’m just Glen,” in reference to Gosling’s Oscar-nominated turn as Ken in “Barbie.”
Of course, Powell’s rising star power has caught the attention of other Hollywood staples. Paul Schrader recently posted on Facebook that Powell is akin to Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, and William Holden in terms of his star power.
“Glen Powell is a movie star in the Holden/Mitchum/Newman mold,” Schrader wrote. “Now he needs to make his ‘Hud.’”
Newman starred in the 1963 Western-tinged drama “Hud,” which earned him an Academy Award Best Actor nomination.
Meanwhile, Powell just seems happy to be in films that get theatrical releases. The actor thanked “Twisters” fans for helping the feature become a box office hit.
“When I was a kid, during the summer I begged my parents to stay in the movie theater all day. Not just cause it had the best air conditioning in Texas, but because summer movies were designed to give you your money’s worth,” Powell wrote. “And I always got to share that cinematic experience with a theater full of people who were on the same ride with me and left with the same rush. So seeing the universal response to ‘Twisters’ has really been a dream come true.”
He added, “Whether I have the privilege to be on the screen or have the joy of sitting in the theater, nothing makes me happier than the movies.”