12 Best Glen Powell Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

Although Glen Powell has been acting for decades (he made his debut all the way back in 2003, with an appearance in "Spy Kids 3: Game Over"), it's really only over the past few years that he's become a Hollywood star. His screen presence and considerable charm have made him a popular figure in multiple different genres, from action romps to romantic comedies. Powell comes across as the thinking man's cowboy, with humor and intelligence hidden behind his brash all-American exterior. 

By 2025, Powell had fully arrived as the next big thing, taking home the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for his charming work in "Hit Man." If that wasn't enough of a recommendation, Tom Cruise himself saw something special in the actor, creating the role of Hangman specifically for Powell in "Top Gun: Maverick." He's an actor whose best days are very much ahead of him, and we're excited to see what he does in the future. But for now, let's look back on his past, with Glen Powell's 12 best movies and TV shows (so far).

The "Jurassic Park" universe is sprawling, and in 2020, it expanded to include the animated series "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous." You know how Jurassic Park is a famously safe destination where nothing ever goes wrong? Well, in "Camp Cretaceous," they've made the dubious decision to open up an adventure camp for kids on Isla Nublar. We only hope they've seen the wisdom in taking out a substantial insurance policy on the venture, since things go awry almost immediately. Predictably, the dinosaurs break out of their enclosures, wreaking havoc on the island and putting the group of teens in mortal danger. 

Glen Powell plays Dave, a paleontologist and one of the main counselors at the camp. Although the show ran for five seasons, Powell is only featured in three of them, as a recurring character in the first and fifth seasons and a guest star in season 2. Although "Camp Cretaceous" is one of the most underseen (but arguably one of the best) "Jurassic Park" outings, it received positive reviews from critics and has a surprisingly strong cast of voice actors, including Jenna Ortega, Jameela Jamil, Stephanie Beatriz, Bradley Whitford, and Haley Joel Osment.

A loose (and we mean loose) adaptation of Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing," "Anyone But You" tells the story of Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell), a pair who had a one-night stand that ended badly, and become resolved to dislike each other forever. This vow grows increasingly difficult when their friend groups somehow manage to be intertwined, and comes to a head when they're both expected to attend the same wedding in Australia. And what's more, their friends and family are determined to set them up, seeing that they would be perfect for one another if they could somehow figure out how to squash their beef.

Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell work well together here (a pattern that you'll see in this article is that Powell has incredible chemistry with pretty much everyone he stars opposite), and although "Anyone But You" has more than its fair share of silly moments, it certainly seemed to charm audiences, and it's one of Sweeney best movies too. It ended up becoming a surprise smash hit, renewing the argument for the theatrical release of romantic comedies, which had been increasingly hoisted off onto streamers.

"Devotion" tells the based-on-a-true-story of two Naval pilots — one Black and one white — who developed a strong camaraderie in the midst of the Korean War. Jonathan Majors plays Jesse Brown, the only Black pilot in their unit, who is subject to racism from all corners. Glen Powell is Tom Hudner, a lieutenant in their fighter squadron, and the two become close during their time together. They face not just the challenges of the war but also Brown's struggles against the racist infrastructure of the armed forces that put barriers between him and advancement, regardless of his undeniable talents. At the same time, Hudner attempts to find ways to help his friend while not undermining his agency and ability to stand up for himself. 

Although it doesn't deviate from the structure of a traditional biopic or war movie, "Devotion" earned praise for the two lead performances from Majors and Powell, and it was moderately successful from a critical perspective — though not at the box office, where it unfortunately ended up becoming one of the biggest flops of 2022.

Created by Ryan Murphy, "Scream Queens" takes all the satirical meta-humor of Wes Craven's "Scream" and dials it up to 11. It stars Emma Roberts as Chanel, who rules over the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority with an iron fist (and, if the rumors are to believed, copious amounts of hydrochloric acid). As is wont to happen in slashers, the sorority is inevitably targeted by a masked serial killer, who hides his face under the guise of the university Red Devil mascot. Glen Powell plays Chad Radwell, the frat bro boyfriend of Chanel who has a predilection for necrophilia but is not, strangely enough, the killer. 

With a smug grin and (we can only assume) overpoweringly pungent cologne, Chad lives up to the reputation of Chads everywhere. "Scream Queens" was a quirky little gem for Fox, running for just two seasons before being cancelled in 2017 in large part due to low ratings. Although Murphy was reportedly working to bring the show back in 2020, the fact that a third season never materialized suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic may have put an end to those plans.

Nearly 30 years after the ultimate popcorn blockbuster "Twister" starring Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt hit theaters, it finally earned itself a sequel on the big screen. In "Twisters," Daisy Edgar-Jones stars as Kate Carter, a traumatized tornado hunter who, after watching her fiancé and several friends get killed in one of their outings, has retreated to the quieter, safer world of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office job. But when she's lured back into the field with a passionate appeal from Javi (Anthony Ramos), her one fellow survivor who is working with a tech company to develop a new tornado tracking system, she crosses paths with Tyler Owens (Glen Powell). Owens is a macho tornado hunter with a massive Youtube following, but his brash exterior belies a keen intellect and a good heart. 

Despite some initial misgivings (to put it mildly), together, they help to save several communities caught in the path of especially destructive tornadoes, reinvigorating Kate's passion for this dangerous work along the way. Although "Twisters" didn't match the mind-boggling box office numbers of its illustrious predecessor, which earned half a billion dollars back in 1996 and became the second-highest-grossing film of the year, it still had an impressive performance, taking home $371 million worldwide. Is there room for a "Twister 3" somewhere, with Daisy Edgar-Jones and Glen Powell reprising their roles? We can only hope.

Richard Linklater is no stranger to nostalgia — in fact, most of his movies have been about either reliving his early days or trying to capture the magic of growing up in a bygone era. "Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood" is no exception, as he uses a quasi-rotoscoping technique to tell a stylized narrative about NASA's space program through the eyes of a child. Glen Powell plays Bostick, one of the two government agents who come to young Stanley's (Milo Coy, voiced as an adult by Jack Black) elementary school to recruit him. 

NASA has been working hard on developing the technology to put a man in space, but they hit an unexpected snag when they realize that the space capsule they've designed is too small for a fully-grown man to operate. Their solution? Find a child with unusual aptitude and train him to pilot a spacecraft. That's where Stanley comes in. Powell's role is minor in the film, and he mostly plays it straight, but there's still a bit of a wink to his performance as an over-the-top stereotype of a government G-Man.

These days, it's hard to imagine Glen Powell in a role where he plays the other man, the guy who the romantic female lead passes over in favor of her true love. But that's his lot in "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society," which, unwieldly title aside, is an emotionally effective romance told in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Lily James plays Juliet, a young writer who decides to travel to the island of Guernsey, which was occupied by German forces during the war. She leaves behind her fiance, the American GI Mark Reynolds (Glen Powell), who is loud, confident, and ... well, just very American. 

But she doesn't expect to have such strong chemistry with the man who's hosting her on Guernsey, played by Michiel Huisman, or that she'll fall in love with him as well as his entire community. So for Juliet to get her happily ever after and to ride off into the sunset with her dream man, Mark will, sadly, have to be set to the side. Sorry, Glen.

Although "Hidden Figures" tells the story of the underappreciated Black women whose math skills made the entire NASA space program possible, the film still has a few clean-cut white men hanging around — after all, someone has to play the astronauts. Glen Powell takes on the role of John Glenn, a former pilot who would become the first American to orbit the Earth. He's treated like a celebrity within the NASA community and a PR dream for the program, since he's basically a handsome astronaut straight out of central casting. But Glenn is also an unexpected ally to the female engineers who are responsible for getting all the very complicated math right, taking them seriously and showing respect for their abilities when many of the other men at NASA either ignore them or treat them with hostility. 

Powell's role very much plays second fiddle to the stars of the show — Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, and Janelle Monáe — but he makes the most of his screentime to give us a memorable take on the famous astronaut. "Hidden Figures" ultimately earned three Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Supporting Actress for Octavia Spencer (who lost to her "The Help" costar Viola Davis, who now regrets her role in the film).

It seems likely that "Everybody Wants Some!!" was meant to be a launching pad for its young star, Blake Jenner, who plays a jock arriving at college, and his various freshman exploits with the rowdy baseball team. But given the domestic abuse allegations against Jenner and his subsequent disappearance from Hollywood (he was even replaced in Richard Linklater's "Merrily We Roll Along" adaptation), the supporting cast around him turn out to be the stars-in-the-making. Chief among these is Glen Powell as Walt "Finn" Finnegan, an upperclassman on the university baseball team and their crew's resident philosopher. 

In a lot of ways, "Everybody Wants Some!!" is the spiritual successor of Richard Linklater's cult hit "Dazed and Confused," and in a similar vein, Powell is his generation's answer to Matthew McConaughey in that film. "Everybody Wants Some!!" was not Linklater's biggest financial success — it was made for just $10 million and still failed to earn back its budget — but in the years since, audiences have come to appreciate it, especially for its cast filled with rising stars.

Like Bradley Cooper before him, Glen Powell played his fair share of cinematic jerks before getting a crack at a romantic lead. In "Set It Up," we're given a glimpse at his vast potential as a leading man. He plays Charlie, the executive assistant of the extremely demanding CEO Rick (Taye Diggs). When he meets Harper (Zoey Deutch), who is similarly saddled with nightmare boss Kirsten (Lucy Liu), they come up with an idea that's so crazy it just might work. 

Their bosses are tightly wound and in serious need of companionship, so maybe the answer to both of their prayers is to set them up with each other, "The Parent Trap" style. If the two are dating, they reason, maybe they'll be so blissed out that they forget about creating a toxic work environment for their employees. Of course, what Charlie and Harper don't count on is sparks flying between the two of them as well. The chemistry between Deutch and Powell is electric, and the two of them launch a charm offensive that makes "Set It Up" one of the most endearing, rewatchable rom-coms in years.

"Top Gun," which was so popular in the 1980s that it essentially functioned as a recruiting tool for the United States Navy, finally got a sequel with 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick." In it, Tom Cruise reprises his role as Maverick, a loose cannon returning to the Top Gun program to help train a crop of recruits for a particularly dangerous mission. Among them is Glen Powell's Jake "Hangman" Seresin, though he was reluctant to take the role at first. A modern version of Val Kilmer's initially antagonistic Iceman from the original film, Hangman is brash, cocky, and an instant rival to Miles Teller's Rooster, the son of the ill-fated Goose from the original "Top Gun." 

As you might expect from a sequel to "Top Gun," the testosterone in this movie is so strong it basically feels like the cinematic equivalent of Axe body spray. Still, Glen Powell's Hangman avoids becoming just a hyper-masculine caricature, getting his fair share of redemptive moments. "Top Gun: Maverick," like many films starring Tom Cruise, was a box office smash, taking home just under $1.5 billion in earnings and proving that if there's one thing audiences will still go to the cinema for, it's a need for speed. It also received six Academy Award nominations, including one for Best Picture, and won the Oscar for Best Sound.

"Hit Man" is the gem of Glen Powell's filmography thus far, showcasing his comedic talents and abilities as a writer. This crowdpleasing dark comedy was co-created by Powell and his frequent collaborator Rickard Linklater, based loosely on the exploits of the real-life Gary Johnson. Powell plays Johnson, a reserved philosophy professor who has a side hustle working with the New Orleans police department. Although his domain is primarily in surveillance, he gets an unexpected promotion when a crooked police officer is placed on leave and he finds himself stepping in for an undercover gig as a fake hit man. 

He quickly discovers a talent for this line of work, and throws himself into it with reckless abandon — until he meets Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman in an abusive marriage who seeks his services. In getting closer to her, the line between Gary and his hit man alter ego becames perilously thin. Powell is clearly having a ball in this film, relishing the opportunity to play both the soft-spoken Gary who is thrown into the deep end as well as adopting a number of increasingly ridiculous disguises to bring to life different visions of the stereotypical hit men.