Top Gun: Maverick breakout star Glen Powell talks playing the bad boy, throwing up and his love for aviation

It isn’t an understatement to say that Glen Powell has waited his whole life for the premier of Top Gun: Maverick. The Austin, Texas native grew up obsessed with the 1986 original, citing the Tom Cruise love letter to Naval Aviation as his push to get into the film industry.

Now, Maverick is the No. 1 movie worldwide after it screamed into theaters May 27 following a two year, pandemic-related delay. It has already made over $190 million domestically and $300 million globally and set a new Memorial Day Weekend box office record after making just over $160 million.

Powell plays Jake “Hangman” Seresin, one of the hotshot pilots vying for a coveted spot in Pete “Maverick” Mitchell’s (Tom Cruise) nearly impossible mission (no, not that impossible mission). Hangman wasn’t the role Powell initially wanted in the long-awaited sequel as he made the final three actors in the running to play Bradley “Rooster” Bradshaw, the son of Maverick’s former back seater Goose (Anthony Edwards).

The role eventually went to Miles Teller, and Powell took to Twitter to express his disappointment in a way only he knows how.

Powell, now 34-years-old, would eventually get a call from none other than Cruise himself as the crew was so impressed with his audition that they expanded a role for him specifically. It’s not surprising he would have that effect. There’s something inherently easy about talking to Powell as he makes it feel like you are two friends reuniting over a beer rather than an interview being conducted.

He’s got everything you’d want in a leading man, including a superstar smile that lights up a room. And now he has his blockbuster. Maverick is the flick that will likely elevate Powell’s career after he’s found success in various roles in Hidden Figures, Scream Queens, Everybody Wants Some, and Set it Up.

His next big project, Devotion, hits theaters in October and is another film rooted in naval aviation — this time in the Korean War era. He’s also going to produce the Blue Angels IMAX experience, something he calls “pretty surreal” considering he grew up with a Blue Angels poster on his bedroom wall and going to their airshows.

“First off, I’m very honored to be your guy,” Powell told For The Win with a smile when asked about staying within the genre. “I love the Navy. The Navy has been very good to me and by being on bases and flying with these naval aviators, and living on the U.S.S. Roosevelt, you get to know these people and you get to know their stories and you have a new level of respect for the men and women in uniform.”

Powell doesn’t just act as a pilot. He’s actually completed the training needed to get his private pilot’s license. He’s traded in the F/A-18 for a Cirrus, but the love of flying remains. Flying wasn’t always as kind to him, however, as Powell has been upfront about his bouts of airsickness throughout the intense jet training flights.

“If the question is, ‘Did I get airsick?’ the answer is yes, I did.” Powell said with a smile. “I want to be forthright with America here.” There’s no shame in “giving your breakfast back to the Navy” as Powell called it as every bit of aviation footage used in the film is absolutely worth every bit of vomit.

Each actor was required to complete intense preparation, which included ground training, water survival training, and obviously flight training.

“Talk about the most immersive experience ever,” Powell said of Maverick’s prep. “You go on a movie and they’re like, ‘Hey, you’re not going to die during filming’ and they’re checking your heart like, ‘is your heart going to explode when you’re in an F/A-18?’ Never had that physical on a movie.”

While the flying is something he loves, the uniform might be just as big an impact on staying in the cockpit for future projects. “First off, you never look cooler than you do in a flight suit. It’s a great look,” he said before likening it to a pair of pajamas.

Powell wasn’t as big of a fan of all the other gear necessary to fly, however. Due to all of the intense G-forces encountered while flying, all of the actors had to don a g-suit in the cockpit. When experiencing G-forces, the suit — which is effectively a pair of fancy chaps — inflates to prevent blood from pooling and to send it back towards your head and heart.

“Once you actually get kitted up to go in the F/A-18, that’s something I took off as quickly as possible,” Powell stated. “The G-suit was not my friend. I liken it to squeezing toothpaste and getting that last bit out. Every time that G-suit would inflate, I could feel my breakfast which is never a good thing.”

Outside of the cockpit, Powell’s Hangman is the reincarnation of Val Kilmer’s Iceman from the original. He pushes everyone’s buttons, knows he may actually be the best of the best and is kind of an all-around jerk. Still, you can’t help but find yourself absolutely loving the character. As the real life nice guy, Powell definitely has fun playing the bad boy.

“They are the most fun characters to play. People have a really fun time watching Hangman, and it’s as much fun to watch as it is to play.”

There will be plenty of roles in Powell’s future, both the instigator and the good guy. At CinemaCon, Powell won the “Male Star of Tomorrow Award,” which is just hardware to prove what we already know from watching him: he’s just getting started. Get ready for the Glenaissaince.