Glen Powell nearly went broke while waiting for the release of “Top Gun: Maverick.”
“I’d never made any significant amount of money on a movie, including ‘Top Gun,’ and I was depleting a bank account to a point where my accountant was like, ‘This pandemic cannot last much longer,'” he candidly recalled to the Hollywood Reporter in a profile published Wednesday.
For context, “Top Gun: Maverick” was slated to come out in 2019, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The movie, however, had many chances to come out on a streaming service, but Tom Cruise reportedly refused and wanted to release it in theaters — even if it meant that the younger actors went broke.
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It finally hit theaters in May 2022.
“Tom was already Tom; I was waiting for my life to change,” Powell said, referencing the decision to wait two years for the movie to come out.
In the end, the film grossed $1.5 billion worldwide, making it the second-highest-grossing film of 2022.
Despite the financial pickle the movie’s delay put him in, “Maverick” is also considered Powell’s breakout role.
The 35-year-old actor became a Hollywood star by December 2023 with the release of the romcom “Anyone But You,” in which he starred with Sydney Sweeney.
However, the movie’s success could also have something to do with the two actors’ chemistry, which led many to believe they were secretly dating.
Last month, Powell admitted to leaning into the romance gossip about him and Sweeney — who is engaged to Jonathan Davinoof — to help promote the film.
“The two things that you have to sell a rom-com are fun and chemistry,” he said in an interview with the New York Times.
“Sydney and I have a ton of fun together, and we have a ton of effortless chemistry. That’s people wanting what’s on the screen off the screen, and sometimes you just have to lean into it a bit — and it worked wonderfully. Sydney is very smart.”
Rumors about the two being a couple were first ignited in March 2023 when they were seen getting cozy on set and hanging out with his family.
The rumors ended up being just rumors, but they helped “Anyone But You” take off at the box office, raking in more than $219 million worldwide, per Deadline.
