Glen Powellhas been making all the right movie moves lately, securing big box office wins with his turns inTop Gun: MaverickandTwisters. He’s also been partially credited with reviving romcoms in theaters thanks tothe success ofAnyone But You, and he’s continued to hone his chops alongside veteran filmmaker Richard Linklater in movies likeEverybody Wants Some!!and Netflix’sHit Man. Add to all this an affinity for the audio drama, and you have a recipe for a true all-rounder.
His latest Audible Original isThe Best Man’s Ghostwriter, a comedic take on the real-life occupation once practiced by director Matthew Starr. Powell builds on his previous Audible experience with10 Day, playing brilliant but insecure Nate, who writes best man wedding speeches for a living but can’t count on any friends in his own life. The 10-episode series also stars Nicholas Braun, Ashley Park, D’Arcy Carden, Lance Bass, Lukas Gage, Alex Wolff, Debra Messing, George Takei, Jack McBrayer, Nicole Byer, Zach Cherry, Lennon Parham, Neil Flynn, Jason Mantzoukas, Ben Marshall, John Higgins, and Martin Herlihy, Jonathan Van Ness, Sherri Shepherd, and more.
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Screen Rantinterviewed Powell about his work onThe Best Man’s Ghostwriter, which he helped produce as well as lent his voice to. The popular actor shared how much fun he had recording alongside longtime friend Nicholas Braun and why he relates to his character’s baggage. He also reveals histhoughts on the ending of Twistersand preparations forThe Running Man.
The Best Man’s Ghostwriter Makes Full Use Of The Glen Powell & Nicholas Braun Bromance
“This was just such a fun, effortless way to go play with an actor that I really respect.”
Screen Rant:The Best Man’s Ghostwriterwas hilarious but also heartwarming and full of bromance. What first struck you about the story and made you want to jump on board?
Glen Powell: I feel like this is a time in my life when I’m going to a lot of weddings. I’ve gotten to see the best man’s speech from all sorts of different angles; some good and some bad. I started thinking about how weddings are such a specific event that’s loaded with emotion, pressure, tension, comedy, and all these different things.
When Matthew Starr brought this to me and, first off, his voice is just incredible. He actually experienced this because he was a best man’s ghostwriter, which is just an amazing, random job that you can’t make up. But also, he’s exploring this part of friendship that’s really hard to describe, where you’re trying to show up for people in the best way. You’re trying to sum up a friendship and sum up why someone means something to you. It’s complicated, and it’s not an easy thing.
I just always loved the opportunity to tell one of my favorite types of stories. Some of the touchstones that I talked about with Matthew as we were producing this together were Swingers, Wedding Crashers, I Love You Man, and Hitch. Some of these things have these romantic elements in them, but they’re really loaded with a lot of heart. There’s something real to explore there and talk about, and that’s what I’m always drawn to.
I was talking with somebody about this the other day, but Mrs. Doubtfire is one of those stories that’s a silly entry point into a movie, but it just makes me cry every time. For me, I like when you can Trojan Horse heart through comedy, and I think that’s what this does a really great job of. It’s such a silly and fun entry point, but it’s got a lot to say.
Also, as a producer, I got to bring all my friends to play with me in a sound booth, which was great. We all pull up in our sweatpants and do our thing.
I was going to ask you about the recording process. You and Nicholas Braun have such great chemistry that I can visualize these scenes while I’m listening. What is that experience like in the actual recording booth? Are you guys recording together, and how do you play off each other to generate that vocal chemistry?
Glen Powell: There was some stuff we didn’t record together, but my days of actually getting to be in a booth with Nick were the best days. Nick and I have been friends for many, many years. We go way back. He was definitely one of my earliest friends out in LA when I first moved out there, and we did this thing called Young Storytellers Foundation, which is where young kids write a short screenplay and bring in actors to put it up in front of their friends and family.
Nick and I have known each other for a really long time through that, but we’ve always been talking about ways to get in the trenches together. This was just such a fun, effortless way to go play with an actor that I really respect and a guy I really love.
Nate is a genius at speeches but not necessarily at communication, and that obviously played out in his previous friendship with X. Can we talk about that looming cloud over him, and how it affects your performance?
Glen Powell: Look, we’re all stunted by past relationships, whether they’re friendships or romantic relationships. It’s always fascinating to me how the past can navigate your future, for good or bad. I find that he’s obviously a guy who represents that old adage, “Those who can’t do, teach.”
This is very much in that category of a guy who can emulate intimacy and dial in on what a friendship is and is good at asking other people those questions. It’s like a therapist can be sometimes the biggest head case; that’s the fun part. The irony of that is really fun to play. He’s a guy who thinks he has it all together and knows all the answers, but doesn’t at all.
Audible Original The Best Man’s Ghostwriter Offers Exciting New Acting Venues For Glen Powell
This also isn’t your first Audible Original, as you also worked on10 Days. What draws you to the audio drama landscape, and what do you hope to bring to it as producer?
Glen Powell: I think what really draws me to the audio drama landscape is the level of attention that an audience has. That’s one of the lessons I learned while making 10 Days: when you’re playing in a new medium, in your new form, you try stuff out and throw stuff against the wall, you’re kind of like, “Man, I could have done that better. I wish I would’ve known that. Oh, that’s what plays.”
When I was listening to 10 Days, I realized you don’t have to telegraph much. There’s a level of nuance, and the audience gets it. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it is a smart audience who is listening so intently. Whether you’re just sitting or driving or whatever it is, there’s a level of engagement there because you’ve almost isolated the senses. It kind of causes you to engage in a much more present way.
As an acting exercise, it was really fun because it freed me up to just have my imagination run wild and trust the audience to have their imagination run wild.
Nate’s got his list of Best Man advice to give out. What are the top three things you’ve accumulated over your experience of witnessing best man’s speeches that people should or shouldn’t do?
Glen Powell: The don’ts? You’ve got to be careful about too many don’ts because, inevitably, your brain will go to them. Midway through, especially after a couple drinks, you’ll swerve right into them. I think, for me, that’s number one. Number two is don’t take advantage of the open bar too much before the speech. That’s probably a good place to start. I would also say… Know the alliances of the family. Know who to call out, who to show love to, and the history before you start acting out the Game of Thrones plot.
Probably another one is don’t mention the ex. I think that’s a strong number one. There are no exes. You’ve never had anyone before.
Glen Powell Defends The Controversial Twisters Romance Ending
The beloved romcom actor jokes that he’s “taking it very personally.”
You’ve been killing it in the romcom department lately and rarely disappoint. However, the people are demanding answers about Twisters. Were you surprised by the quote-unquote backlash about the lack of a final kiss? What’s your response to the discourse?
Glen Powell: I’m taking it very personally! I’m sure you’ve seen the behind-the-scenes, where I did get to kiss Daisy Edgar Jones, which really is all that counts. [Laughs] We had a great time, and I’m really proud of the movie.
I really think that even that [backlash] shows that people care, which is really great. I just love how excited people have gotten about that movie, and Daisy and I send each other the TikToks and the gifs. There’s so much funny stuff coming out of it. It’s fun. That’s what summer movies are about. It creates this conversation and cultural moment, and people dress up and do the thing. It’s been really awesome.
So, kiss or no kiss, everybody’s a winner.
Glen Powell Is Ready To Take A Stab At Stephen King In The Running Man Remake
The actor owns that he’s “been working on [his] sprint.”
Finally, everyone’s also excited forThe Running Manremake. What can you say about your own excitement for that and what you think of Edgar Wright’s adaptation?
Glen Powell: I have been doing a lot of sprinting. That’s all I can say. I’ve been working on my sprint. [Laughs]
No, I’ll say that Edgar Wright has been one of my favorite filmmakers for as long as I can remember. I think since Shaun of the Dead, I was like, “I can’t wait to work with this guy.” And he just keeps churning out brilliant things that only his brain could concoct.
The Running Man is something he’s so passionate about, and we’re really taking the Stephen King book and just adding a lot of fun Edgar Wright flavor to it, and it has been awesome. That’s going to be a really fun one; I’m super excited about it.
More About The Best Man’s Ghostwriter
A bad best man’s speech can ruin a wedding. Why do we plan every detail of a perfect day and then give the groom’s idiot best friend five minutes of total power?
Enter Nate (Glen Powell), a speechwriter-for-hire who helps people write incredible best man speeches. To keep the best man from embarrassing himself (and the newlyweds), Nate uses his list of Don’ts: don’t mention the exes, don’t be rated R, and don’t bum everyone out, the list goes on. Nate’s system never fails. That is, until he meets Dan (Nicholas Braun), the dopey, hopelessly awkward best man for the biggest social media influencer’s wedding of the year. On top of that, Nate just engaged to the woman of his dreams, and now he has to find his own best man – forcing him to confront a brutal friendship breakup with his former best friend.
As Nate helps Dan with his speech, he explores the insane and often idiotic world of male friendship and must come up with an answer to the one question most men never think about: why is their best friend their best friend?
Check out our previous Glen Powell interviews here:
The Best Man’s Ghostwriterarrives September 12 on Audible.Pre-order the 10-episode series here.
