The actor’s status has skyrocketed in the last few years, arguably starting in 2022 with his appearance in the long-awaited “Top Gun: Maverick.” His supporting role in that movie — and Tom Cruise’s sometimes terrifying mentorship — seemed to be what set Powell on the path to leading man.
Caralynn Matassa contributed to a previous version of this post.
20. “Misconduct”
Powell in “Misconduct.”
Lionsgate
Powell had a supporting role in this forgettable 2016 thriller that flopped at the box office despite having two Oscar winners (Anthony Hopkins and Al Pacino) in its ensemble.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 7%
19. “Ride Along 2”
Powell in “Ride Along 2.”
Universal Pictures
The actor donned some fake tattoos to play drug dealer Troy in the 2016 Ice Cube and Kevin Hart comedy sequel to 2014’s “Ride Along.”
Rotten Tomatoes score: 15%
18. “The Expendables 3”
Powell with costar Sylvester Stallone in “The Expendables 3.”
Lionsgate
Powell went toe-to-toe with action legends like Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, and Dolph Lundgren in the third film in “The Expendables” franchise. The 2014 movie wasn’t as well-received as the two that came before it.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 32%
17. “Sand Castle”
Powell in “Sand Castle.”
Netflix
Powell played the ill-fated Sergeant Chutsky in Netflix’s 2017 war drama that also starred Nicholas Hoult and Henry Cavill.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 47%
16. “Anyone But You”
“Anyone but You.”
Sony
Powell charmed the pants off audiences opposite Sydney Sweeney in “Anyone But You,” a delightful rom-com that was expected to usher in a renaissance for the genre. Critics, however, were more lukewarm on the movie.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 53%
15. “Chad Powers”
Daniel Delgado/Disney
Based on an internet skit where retired Super Bowl champion quarterback Eli Manning disguises himself to tryout for a college football team, this Hulu series stars Powell as a disgraced college QB who disguises himself to get on another team and get a second chance.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 57%
14. “The Running Man”
Glen Powell in “The Running Man.”
Paramount Pictures
Powell teams with director Edgar Wright to reboot the classic 1980s Arnold Schwarzenegger movie. Based on the Stephen King novel, Powell plays an out-of-work construction worker who, in hopes of a better life for his family, enters the deadly game show “The Running Man,” where if you survive from deadly killers for 30 days, you win $1 billion.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 63%
13. “Sex Ed”
Retta, Haley Joel Osment, and Powell in “Sex Ed.”
MarVista Entertainment
Not to be confused with the similarly titled Netflix series. Powell starred in this 2014 comedy playing the roommate of Haley Joel Osment’s character.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 64%
12. “Twisters”
Kate (Daisy Edgar-Jones) and Tyler (Glen Powell) in “Twisters.”
Melinda Sue Gordon/Universal Pictures, Warner Bros. Pictures, and Amblin Entertainment
In this sequel to the hit 1990s disaster movie “Twister,” Powell plays a brash storm-chasing YouTube influencer.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 75%
11. “Scream Queens”
Powell in “Scream Queens.”
Fox
Never forget Chad Radwell. Powell played the fan-favorite philanderous frat boy in Ryan Murphy’s underrated horror-comedy slasher series.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 77%
10. “Devotion”
Powell in “Devotion.”
Columbia Pictures
On the heels of that other naval pilot movie he was in, Powell also found time to star in the 2022 biographical war film “Devotion.” Based on a true story, Powell played real-life Korean War hero Tom Hudner.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%
9. “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”
Powell with Lily James in “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society.”
Netflix
Powell played the American boyfriend of Lily James’ character in this 2018 historical romantic drama, based on Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows’ 2008 novel of the same name.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 82%
8. “The Lying Game”
Powell in “The Lying Game.”
The CW
Powell had a guest role in this short-lived YA drama series on The CW about long-lost twin sisters.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%
7. “Everybody Wants Some!!”
Powell in “Everybody Wants Some!!”
Paramount Pictures
Powell’s first team-up with director Richard Linklater was also a hit with critics. He played Finnegan in the 2016 comedy about college baseball players in Texas in the 1980s.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%
6. “Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood”
Powell voices Bostick in Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood
Netflix
He collaborated with Linklater again, voicing Bostick, a NASA official, in the 2022 animated coming-of-age dramedy loosely based on Linklater’s own childhood experience watching the first Moon landing.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
4 (tie). “Set It Up”
Netflix
Before there was “Anyone But You,” there was “Set It Up.” The 2018 rom-com starred Powell opposite Zoey Deutch as two bickering assistants with demanding bosses who fall in love.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
4 (tie). “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous”
Powell has a voice role in “Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous.”
Netflix
Powell voices camp counselor Dave in the animated sci-fi adventure series, Netflix’s first TV show set in the “Jurassic Park” universe. It aired from 2020 to 2022.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
3. “Hidden Figures”
Powell in “Hidden Figures.”
20th Century Studios
Powell played the real-life astronaut John Glenn, who became the third American in space, in the 2016 biographical drama inspired by the untold story of the three Black mathematicians who worked at NASA during the space race.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%
2. “Hit Man”
Glen Powell as Gary Johnson in “Hit Man.”
Matt Lankes / Netflix
Based on a true story, Powell stars as Gary Johnson, a professor who moonlights for the New Orleans Police Department as a fake hitman. Powell cowrote the script with Linklater, who directed.
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
1. “Top Gun: Maverick”
Glen Powell as Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin in “Top Gun: Maverick.”
Paramount Pictures
This is the movie that made Powell a star. He played cocky pilot Lieutenant Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the long-awaited “Top Gun” sequel opposite Tom Cruise’s “Maverick” and Miles Teller’s “Rooster.”
