Especially in the last few years, Glen Powell has become a bankable Hollywood star that has led him to hit movies like Twisters and Top Gun: Maverick. But every success story has a beginning, and there was a time when the star thought he “made it” on a smaller scale after earning his salary in The Expendables 3.
Powell stopped by the Therapuss With Jake Shane podcast this week in anticipation for his new series, Chad Powers, premiering on the 2025 TV schedule in a few days. During the conversation, the 36-year-old actor recalled a time in his early 20s when he had to watch his spending everywhere he went. As he described:
When you’re in L.A., for most of that existence, you’re nickel-and-diming anything. 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.
The Texan moved to Los Angeles after high school following his role in The Great Debaters with Denzel Washington and never looked back. But as he explained in the new interview, he was no overnight success. For many years, he had to save every penny he could, and that meant skipping out on eating out. Powell recalled storing a flask in his boot when going out to save money on drinks. However, then he got a role on The Expendables 3, and he didn’t have to look at money the same way. As he put it:
I got paid bare minimum, but I was there for several months, so I made enough. 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.
As Glen Powell shared candidly, he was making the “bare minimum” on the 2014 movie that also starred an onslaught of Hollywood stars like Sylvester Stallone, Jason Statham, Antonio Banderas, Jet Li, Wesley Snipes, Dolph Lundgren, Mel Gibson, Harrison Ford and Arnold Schwarzenegger. But because he was on the project for a few months, he started racking up the cash, and quickly changed his financial standing. That’s without talking about all the big stars he got to work with, and he actually has a great story about Stallone.
Powell’s anecdote on his The Expendables 3 paycheck shows how rare, but valuable getting a solid job as a Hollywood actor is, especially when you are not a big name yet. While it took a long time for Powell to earn leading roles, every step along the way mattered. For example, the actor will never forget the small role he had in The Dark Knight Rises.
You can see Glen Powell next in the first TV show he’s led, Chad Powers, premiering on Tuesday. It’s a comedy about a formerly arrogant college football quarterback who decides to disguise himself as “Chad Powers” to start over after disgracing himself at a championship game. I can’t decide if I’m more excited for that or The Running Man, which hits theaters on November 14.