Glen Powell first learned about the story of Navy fighter pilots Tom Hudner and Jesse Brown when reading Adam Makus’ 2017 book Devotion: An Epic Story of Heroism, Friendship, and Sacrifice. The actor has set “Hidden Figures” and “Top Gun: Maverick” on the road to presenting “Loyalty” in theaters November 23. Not only does Powell star but Hudner is a producer on the film, having spent years bringing the project to fruition. Set during the Korean War, the film stars Jonathan Majors as Brown, who was the first black pilot in the US Navy and recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Were you surprised when you heard the “loyalty” story? I wasn’t familiar with Jesse Brown and Tom Hudner before this movie.
I was the same. I first read the book about four years ago. Reading it, I remember thinking it was unbelievable that I had never heard this story before. I felt as if I was reading Hidden Figures for the first time and he was like: “Is that really true? This is so incredible, why haven’t I heard it before?”
This movie has an amazing director, JD Dillard. how did you find it?
We were interviewing different managers and it didn’t go right. We couldn’t find the right person. Then JD Dillard walks into the room and it’s like the heavens opened up. His father was the second African American Blue Angel. He has this fascination with flying. And he’s a really passionate filmmaker who understands all the complex emotions of what this movie is and how this movie can breathe in a way that is authentic and doesn’t fall into easy metaphors.
That’s one of the things I love about this movie – it constantly surprised me by avoiding or subverting what I expected.
That was the tricky part, there are so many metaphors to navigate. We’ve seen a lot of things before. And as we developed this thing, we kept really trying to say, “What’s the honest story here?” You can just see the movie paint by numbers. And I feel like everyone involved in this movie just wanted authenticity.
You see this interest in characters like Daisy, Jesse’s wife, played by Christina Jackson. In some films, this would be a two-dimensional role, but she is well drawn and a compelling character in her own right.
Right, and the way you dealt with that character was pretty cool. It’s their unique relationship that really established them, and it really becomes the heart throb of the movie. She is a very important person. We looked at a lot of people for the role, a lot of well-established people. But it was only evident that she had a special advantage and had such humanity.
Of course we have to talk about Jonathan Majors, who plays Jesse Brown.
Jonathan Majors would clearly be on Mount Rushmore one of the great actors of our generation. I had just seen “The Last Black Man in San Francisco” and I was like, “Here’s the guy. We’ve got to get him.” He read the script and liked it, and I flew to New York to meet him. I remember a nervous call from the producers saying, “Hey, Jonathan wants to meet you at a Russian bath. Is that okay?” I was like, “Sure. I’m going to sell it on this movie in a Russian bath.” It’s funny when you meet someone you’re basically naked and promote them. But we were there for hours and made good friends.
Why do you think you are connected to this story so strongly?
I try to look at what the emotional collective is, like where we are as a people. I remember thinking about how negative people seem to be in terms of the way they treat friends. You don’t put the skin in the game. You support them to an extent but it only goes so far. So it was on my head and heart, the idea of how to be a great friend. And how far we are willing to go for each other. And when I read this, I thought it felt incredibly timeless, especially since we’re going through such a strange moment as a country where we’re trying to define who we are in the bigger picture of things. And this is where we were after World War II, the United States had this amazing moment where the bad guy eventually beat out, but we’re trying to define how we’re going to be an ally and a wingman to the rest of the world. This is what the Korean War was about. And that’s what this friendship was about. This was seven years ago and was very topical even then.
Then I had some conversations with JD in early 2020, about race and all the things that were going on, and how to be a good friend. How to support someone. And I felt very uncomfortable with the fact that I wanted to be a friend, I wanted to be an ally and I didn’t know what was seen as true, or what was seen as obligatory. It’s a confusing feeling that I want to be a good friend to people and I just don’t know how to do that. And it was that frustration where a lot of that kind of got seasoned and screwed up and shaped, you know, that was kind of the emotional mud on the table that we eventually put into this movie.
I participated in the selection of this movie. Was this your first time being on the other side of a casting?
I used to read with people before. I read with a bunch of people about Set It Up, so I was on the other side of that. Originally, I was going to do it with Emilia Clarke but she kept doing Solo and we had to find a new Harper. But this was the first time I was a certified product. That I brought something from start to finish. And there was a different level of pressure every single day on this one in the fact that when you meet the guy you play, you’ve taken out his rights and made promises to his family… I’ve never been so engrossed in this experience in my entire life. And I don’t know if I would do that. I mean, that’s four years of really feeling like I was with that guy spiritually. I am in constant contact with his family, even now.
Ever since Set It Up came out, I’ve always ranted about how I don’t understand why people haven’t thrown all that money at you and Zoey Deutch to do six more movies together, or at least a sequel.
Well, you know, keep yelling. I had the best time making this movie and I love Zoe, Katie Silverman, and Claire Scanlon so much, nothing has stopped me from getting back in the trenches with them.
You ended up in “Top Gun: Maverick” as the Hangman, even though you auditioned for the role of the Rooster. When it was announced that Miles Teller was playing Rooster, I posted a joke tweet that went viral about removing all the Tom Cruise posters in your bedroom. Did you know at that point that you would still be in the movie in another role?
No, that was the moment when I had a sense of humor about it before I got really sad about it. I literally remember getting the call because my boyfriend was at my house. It was a few days after the audition and I felt really good about it and Joe Kosinski called and said, “Hey, you know we go with Miles.” I was like, “Okay, you guys are going to make a great movie. I appreciate the opportunity.” My friend took a picture of me thinking I would get the role. So I was sitting on the porch alone in an American flag tank top with Airmen on… It was so sad on so many levels.
So within the hour, the press got to pick Miles and he was all over the place. And I said, “I’m going to say something silly and funny.” Then sadness hit the next day, so I’m really glad I got this tweet before that. Then there was the experience of Tom Cruise calling me and pushing me into this whole other thing with Jerry Bruckheimer and Joe Kosinki and Chris McQuarrie and I’m very happy about that.
I wondered if maybe they saw it and made them laugh and actually helped you get the role.
You never know! In hindsight, it’s weird when you think about the little things you weren’t aware of if it changed the course of your life. I didn’t think about it at the time, but you never know. I’m really glad I tweeted it, whether I got the job or not!
Things you didn’t know about Glen Powell
age: 34
hometown: Austin, Texas
Party dream: Hosting “Saturday Night Live” – a show he grew up with that “was kind of the love language of my family.”
next one: Reengage by saying “Everyone wants some!” Director Richard Linklater, “Hitman”
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