Glen Powell Explains The Advice Matthew McConaughey Gave Him That Helped Convince Him To Move Out Of Hollywood
It looks like the ranks of stars who don’t live in Hollywood have gained another member. With the 2024 movie schedule seeing Glen Powell returning to screens in both Hit Man and Twisters this summer, the charming Texan has said goodbye to the City of Stars. You can thank fellow southern boy/acting legend Matthew McConaughey for delivering the hard-earned advice that sent Powell packing after almost two decades in the California sun.
Speaking with THR, the Anyone but You heartthrob had his own extremely valid take on why the move back to the Lone Star State makes sense. Here’s what Glen Powell shared as part of his reasons for returning home:
Getting to this point in Hollywood is that I can now leave Hollywood. It’s like I’ve earned the ability to go back to my family.
As far as “earning” his way back home, I can definitely see where Mr. Powell is coming from. Usually aspiring talent is told to move to California to better pursue every project that arrives in hopes of scoring their breakout hit. Should you land that mythical success, the freedom to live does crop up, as the gigs tend to come to you; especially after landing a movie like Top Gun: Maverick on your resume.
There’s an added angle that the report cited above mentions when explaining Glen Powell’s exodus back to Texas. In addition to wanting to be near the people he holds near and dear, the acting sensation is looking to finish up his degree at the University of Texas at Austin. Which, to be quite honest, only endears the man to me further, as it’s never too late to score some knowledge.
Now it’s also noted that our Jurassic Park: Camp Cretaceous alum does still have a separate residence in New York. However, that just seems like a move in the name of common sense, as it’d be a base of operations for everything from potential junkets to film festivals. But it all comes back to those notions of family and normalcy, which were spurred along by Matthew McConaughey himself.
Just as Camila Alves’ thoughts on moving out of Hollywood reflected on a return to normalcy for herself and her family, the advice that Glen Powell shares from his talk with Yellowstone’s next potential leading man lands squarely in that ballpark. More specifically, McConaughey used a rather apt cinematic metaphor to hammer his point home, which Powell stated as follows:
He’s like, ‘Hollywood is the Matrix, man. You plug in and it’s all fake world.’ He’s like, ‘Then I go to Austin, and I unplug. It’s all real. Those are my friends, that’s my family, my actions matter there.’ And he’s right. If you’re here, you live in the Matrix all the time, there’s no separation of those worlds. And for me, especially as my parents get older and my niece and nephew are growing up, I want a separation of those worlds.
Now that he’s landed in a pretty good place with his work, Glen Powell can now better balance his time and opportunities along with seeing family and friends. It’s a dream that every actor pursues, and ultimately it’s one that can even improve their work. Also, who could blame Powell for heading back to Texas when the barbecue rarely ever measures up anywhere else?
Your next dose of Powell-mania will be arriving very soon, as Hit Man will debut on June 7th for those loyal Netflix subscription holders anticipating its release. Though if your access is currently active, you could always take in Anyone but You, which is part of that platform's library at the moment.
