‘I Got Paid Bare Minimum’

Glen Powell remembers what it was like to live paycheck to paycheck as a young actor in Los Angeles.

“You’re not making much money, even if you’re in things,” he said of new actors in a conversation with Jake Shane on the Wednesday, September 24 episode of Shane’s “Therapuss” podcast.

“When you’re in L.A., for most of that existence, you’re nickel and dimming anything,” he added. “Everything matters. You look at a rotisserie chicken like how long can I make this last…I would go to dinner with people but I would never eat. I couldn’t afford to split.”

That changed for Powell, 36, after his role as Thorn in the 2014 movie Expendables 3. It was the moment, he said, the “weight” of financial insecurity began to lift.

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“I got paid bare minimum, but I was there for several months, so I made enough,” Powell recalled. “It was the most money I ever made. It was like 70,000 bucks or something like that. And just remember being like, ‘I don’t have to think about a cup of coffee, how much it costs.’”

Powell’s career has blossomed since then. His role opposite Sydney Sweeney in the 2023 rom-com Anyone But You netted him $5 million on its own, according to Variety, while he also appeared in major hits like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters.

Powell spoke to Us Weekly exclusively ahead of Twisters’ summer 2024 release about how the sequel to the 1996 disaster film reminded him why he decided to make a go of it as an actor.

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“One of the joys of this job is to return to worlds that got you into this business in the first place. Twisters is such a visceral experience, but it’s [also] about these people and this real community: They’re just cowboys chasing the wind,” he explained. “There’s a sense of freedom, curiosity and fascination that permeates that movie. I left the original wanting to be on that ride. When this came around, [Top Gun: Maverick director] Joseph Kosinski was one of the early writers on the script, and he told me about a role I could potentially be right for. I felt so honored. It would’ve been a real bummer to see anybody wear Tyler’s cowboy hat other than me.”

He added that even while the opportunities continue to roll in, he has not grown tired of living his dream.

“It sounds silly, but when you have a great passion, it’s not really work,” he said. “I’ve loved movies my whole life. Since I was a kid, I had a video camera around my neck. I always asked my parents to stay in the movie theater all day during the summer. I love summers because I love summer blockbusters. [Movies are] my love language. I feel like I’m getting a chance to do the thing I’ve always wanted to do.”

“I just want to keep doing this job, and I hope they keep letting me,” he added. “That’s why I wake up and take this job seriously. I [was] an unemployed actor for a really, really long time, so I know what it’s like to dream of [being a working actor] and not be able to do it. As long as I can stay in the game, I’ll be happy.”