Glen Powell recently recalled a sour meeting he had early in his career with veteran actor Dustin Hoffman. In his appearance on Hot Ones, the actor revealed that Hoffman’s initial admiration of his acting abilities dissipated days later at a script reading meeting. Powell launched his acting career in the early 2000s but only found widespread recognition in recent years through films like Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You.
Glen Powell talks about his meeting with Dustin Hoffman
The Twisters actor recently appeared on Hot Ones, where he discussed a variety of topics with host Sean Evans. During the discussion, Evans reminded Glen Powell about how the latter was honest about his challenging acting journey. The former asked the latter to describe the period between his initial perceptions of show business and his actual experiences. In response, Powell shared a personal story about his meeting with Dustin Hoffman.
Powell recalled sitting next to Hoffman at a dinner and learning that he had seen one of the former’s early films, The Great Debaters. “The fact that he saw this movie just like blew my mind,” Powell added. “This is the coolest moment of my entire life.”
Powell remembered Hoffman complimenting his acting, which he was happy to hear. He then recalled the Kramer vs. Kramer actor giving him something and asking him to keep in touch.
Powell recalled getting a call from Hoffman some days later for a script reading meeting, which turned sour. He revealed that he started reading the script but was captivated by Hoffman, who sat opposite him. “He’s one of my favorite actors of all time,” Powell stated. “As I’m reading, I’m watching the life drain from his eyes being like, ‘This guy sucks so bad.’ And I was like, ‘Oh no.'”
The Anyone But You actor continued, “And you can like [it]—I’m watching him, I’m losing him. And then I’m being like, ‘Yeah, you’re losing him,’ and then I look back and I’m losing him even more. And I left so defeated.”
Powell shared that his experience with Hoffman taught him that show business was “play.” He noted that one would first look at veteran actors as “legends” and later as “collaborators” who were trying to entertain audiences. He added that while his excitement for showbiz hasn’t dwindled, his perspective has changed.
