At the beginning of his acting career, Glen Powell recalled a casting director’s offhand comment that he would be lucky to “play a dead body” on CSI. That remark stuck with Powell who said he struggled in Los Angeles for over a decade trying to land acting jobs. 

Despite facing some hurdles along the way, Powell said there was never a point where he considered giving up.

“There was a point where I realized that acting is not a meritocracy. And just because you exist on a longer timeline doesn’t mean it’s going to work out. Right? There’s a lot of other bigger forces at play,” Powell told “CBS Mornings” co-anchor Gayle King during an interview in his hometown of Austin, Texas.

He added, “The fact that all of those sort of detours along the way about learning how to sort of develop and raise money and write – all these things are now kind of leading me to a place where all of those weapons are at my disposal”

“Pretty surreal”

Powell’s since gone on to create box office magic – from starring alongside Tom Cruise in “Top Gun: Maverick” to playing Syndey Sweeney’s love interest in the romantic comedy “Anyone but You” and beyond. Later this summer, he’ll be in Steven Spielberg’s film “Twisters.”

He said his career – and life – took a turn in what seemed like the span of a few months. People started to recognize him after his role as cocky pilot Lt. Jake “Hangman” Seresin in the 2022 hit “Top Gun: Maverick.”

“You sometimes…get a double take or whatever. But now, it’s definitely been an interesting change in terms of my privacy and my personal life,” he told King.

But he said the biggest change is getting calls from filmmakers he’s dreamed about working with – like Spielberg.

“That part has been pretty surreal,” he said. “You sort of have on your vision board…you know, that you’ve been dreaming about…that you’re just massive fans. And now they’re my friends – and potential colleagues. It’s like, it’s pretty crazy.”

Co-writing “Hit Man”

One person who’s always been in his corner is Oscar-nominated film director Richard Linklater who he’s worked with for nearly two decades. The pair teamed up to co-write the film “Hit Man,” inspired by a true story Powell read about in Texas Monthly about a man posing as a hired assassin.

The film centers around Gary Johnson, a psychology professor who built audio-visual equipment for the police department in sting operations and moonlights as a fake hit man. The film takes unexpected twists and turns when Johnson falls for a client.

“I’m not going to give away the ending. But I did find myself being surprised at myself that I’m rooting for things that go against everything I believe in,” King told Powell.

“That’s the magic trick of this… We always conceptualize this as the beginning of a beautiful family, the beginning of a beautiful love story – you have to go on that ride ’cause if you really believe in love, sometimes love takes really unexpected, weird turns,” replied Powell.

Meeting Powell’s parents

Powell’s parents, Cyndy and Glen Sr., told King they knew their son had something special at a young age. 

Cyndy remembers his kindergarten teacher describing him at a parent-teacher conference, saying, “I’ve taught 30 years and I’ve never seen somebody have the presence this kid has.” 

She said, ‘He’s either going be an actor or president,” Cyndy recalled.

The pair have enjoyed following Powell’s career journey through the years.

“We all read lines with him,” Glen Sr. added.

Powell said his mom and two sisters, in particular, are always quick to give him feedback.

“I don’t think the truth is avoidable. I think I have, I grew up around very, very strong women who, who are not afraid to speak their mind, I think is the healthiest thing, as a guy to grow up with, really strong women running the family, you know,” Powell said.

No matter what, Powell said he’s comforted to have a family who will stick by his side.

“You don’t ever know how far this journey’s going to take you, but I knew that they were going to be with me, win or lose. And that’s been amazing because right now we’re getting to win,” he said.