Twisters director reveals it wasn’t Top Gun: Maverick that sold him on Glen Powell

Glen Powell plays the tornado wrangler with a heart of gold in Twisters, and director Lee Isaac Chung revealed to Dexerto the one thing that sold him on casting the star.

There’s no denying that Powell is the man of the moment in Hollywood. After climbing the streaming charts with Hit Man, he’s now starring as the aptly titled “cowboy scientist” in Twisters.

In the Twister sequel, his charisma and signature smile are used in full effect, putting a rebellious spin on the story of storm chasers. But despite what audiences might assume, it wasn’t his turn in the equally exhilarating Top Gun: Maverick that earned him his newest action movie role. In fact, it was one small appearance on TV.

“Ultimately, I saw this clip that someone sent to me of Glen Powell being interviewed on a TV show, and his parents are in the audience. He’s having this banter with his parents,” Chung explained to Dexerto.

“It made me feel like he is exactly the type of guy who I grew up around, the types of people who I really loved and love to be around and a lot of my friends.”

While he didn’t specify which show he’d seen Powell on, it was enough to convince the director that he was the perfect person to play the charming Tyler Owens.

“I just felt like it should be someone who really embodies this place and embodies a kindness and generosity, because ultimately, that’s what I think he represents at the end of the film. And sure enough, when we started working together, I felt like he was already an old friend.”

When it comes to working with Glenn, Chung had plenty of praise, especially regarding the pairing between him and his co-star, Daisy Edgar-Jones.

“It was really wonderful to work with him,” he added. “He and Daisy got along super well, they were immediately friends with each other. And it was so fun to be around them as a tandem. I felt that was going to be special in this movie, that chemistry they were clearly bringing.”

Twisters releases on July 19 in the US and on July 17 in the UK. For more, find out how to watch Twisters and check out our review of the new movie.