Top Gun: Maverick star Glen Powell received some interesting advice from actor Tom Cruise as he prepared for his role in the film.
According to Powell, Cruise told him, “Make it all up.”
In the film, Powell stars as Lt. Jake “The Hangman” Seresin, an arrogant pilot who is mentored by Cruise’s character, Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.
“Sometimes you can fall into the trap of wanting to be on camera,” Powell told Kate Hudson in an interview with Variety. “And in a movie like this, you don’t want to be Draco Malfoy when you know a lot of people are going to have eyes,” he said, referring to the famous bad boy from the Harry Potter series.
Glen Powell, left, and Tom Cruise star in the 2022 film Top Gun: Maverick.
(Getty Images for Han Myung-Gu/Paramount Pictures)
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“Tom advised me, ‘For the ending to work, you have to fully lean into it. Everyone else in the movie is questioning their abilities,” Powell said, recalling what Cruise said about Powell’s character.
“You’re the only one who doesn’t question it. So if anything you say is apologetic, the movie won’t work. Pay attention to everything.”
Glen Powell, right, says Tom Cruise told him to lean on his character’s “d—–baggery” in Top Gun: Maverick.
(Mark Piasecki/FilmMagic)
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Powell originally auditioned for the role of Lt. Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw on “Top Gun,” and eventually went to actor Miles Teller.
He explained: “I wrote a journal about all of this because it’s hard to describe. I prepared for that audition for months. I lived on naval bases. Then I didn’t get the part,” he said.
Not only did Powell have to accept that he didn’t get the part, but he said that “then Tom Cruise was offering me a new role” that fell into his lap, so he put his name in the credits.
Glen Powell played frat star Chad Radwell in the first two seasons of Scream Queens.
(FOX Photo Collection)
For the 34-year-old Powell, this is not the first inappropriate character he has played.
He told Hudson about working with his brother Oliver Hudson: “I keep getting cast as the sack, even the work I did with Ollie. [Oliver Hudson] “In ‘Scream Queens,’ where I’m so stupid.”