Glen Powell has been making all the right movie moves lately, securing big box office wins with his turns in Top Gun: Maverick And Twisters. He is also partially credited with reviving romcoms in theaters thanks to the success of Anyone but youAnd he continued to hone his chops alongside veteran filmmaker Richard Linklater in movies like Everyone wants some!! And Netflix Hit man. Add to all this an affinity for audio drama, and you have a recipe for a true all-rounder.
His latest Audible Original is The best man’s ghostwriterA comedic take on the real-life profession once practiced by director Matthew Starr. Powell builds on his previous Audible experience with 10 dayPlaying 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 Rant Interviewed Pavel about his work on The best man’s ghostwriterwhich he helped produce and also learned his voice. The popular actor shared how much fun he had recording alongside longtime friend Nicholas Brown and what he related to his character’s baggage. He also reveals his thoughts on the ending of Twisters and preparations for The Running Man.
The Best Man’s Best Ghostwriter takes advantage of the Glenn Powell and Nicholas Brown bromance
“It was just such a fun, effortless way to play with an actor I really respect.”
Screen Rating: The best man’s ghostwriter Was 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 go to a lot of weddings. I got 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 is loaded with emotion, stress, tension, comedy and all these different things.
When Matthew Starr brought this to me, and, first off, his voice was 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 yourself. But also, he explores the part of friendship that is really hard to describe, where you try to show yourself to people in the best way. You try 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 I talked about with Matthew when we were producing this together were Swingers, Wedding Crashers, I Love You Man and Hitch. Some of these things have the romantic elements in them, but they are really loaded with a lot of heart. There’s something real to explore out there and talk about, and that’s what I’m always drawn to.
I was talking to someone about this the other day, but Mrs. Doubtfire is one of those stories that is a silly entry 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 why this is a really great work of. It’s such a silly and fun entry point, but it has 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 on our sweatpants and do our thing.
I would have to ask you about the recording process. You and Nicholas Brown have such great chemistry that I can visualize the scenes while listening. What is the experience like in the actual recording booth? Do you record together, and how do you play off each other to generate the 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 in LA when I first moved there, and we had this thing called Young Storytellers Foundation, which is where young kids write a short screenplay and bring in actors to put it in front of their friends and family.
Nick and I have known each other for a long time, but we always talked about ways to get into the trenches together. It was just such a fun, effortless way to play with an actor I really respect and a guy I really like.
Nate is a genius at speeches but not necessarily at communication, and this obviously played into his previous friendship with X. Can we talk about this 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 better or worse. I find that he is obviously a guy who represents that old adage, “those who can’t do, learn.”
This is very much in the category of a guy who can emulate intimacy and dial in what a friendship is and is good at asking other people those questions. It’s like a therapist can sometimes be the biggest head case; That’s the fun part. The irony of that is actually fun to play. He is a guy who thinks he has it all together and knows all the answers, but he doesn’t at all.
Audible Original The Best Man’s Ghostwriter offers exciting new acting venues for Glen Powell
This isn’t your first Audible Original either, as you’ve also worked on 10 days. What draws you to the audio drama landscape, and what do you hope to bring to it as a 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 doing 10 Days: When you’re playing in a new medium, in your new form, you’re trying stuff and throwing stuff against the wall, you’re like, “Man, I could have done that better.” , I wish I knew that.
When I listened to 10 days, I realized that you don’t have to telegraph much. There is a level of nuance, and the audience gets it. I don’t know how else to describe it, but it is a smart audience that listens so strongly. Whether you’re just sitting or driving or whatever, there’s a level of engagement there because you’ve almost isolated the senses. This makes you act in a much more present way.
As an acting exercise, it was really fun because it freed me to just let my imagination run wild and trust the audience to have their imaginations.
Nate has his list of best human advice to give. What are the top three things you’ve gleaned from your experience of witnessing the best man’s speeches that people should or shouldn’t do?
Glen Powell: They don’t? You have to be careful about too many do not because, inevitably, your brain will go to them. By the way, especially after a couple of drinks, you’ll swerve right into them. I think, for me, that’s number one. Number two is don’t use the open bar too much before the speech. That’s probably a good place to start. I would also say… know the covenants of the family. Know who to call, who to show love and the story before you start playing 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 excesses. You’ve never had anyone before.
Glen Powell defends the controversial Twisters romance ending
The beloved romcom actor jokes that he “takes it very personally.”
You’ve been killing it in the romcom department lately and rarely disappoint. However, the people are demanding answers about twisters. Are you surprised by the quote-unquote backlash over the lack of a final kiss? What is your response to the discussion?
Glen Powell: I take it very personally! I’m sure you saw the behind-the-scenes where I got 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 love how excited people have gotten about the movie, and Daisy and I are sending each other the tiktoks and the gifs. There’s so much weird 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 was really awesome.
So, kiss or no kiss, everyone is a winner.
Glen Powell is ready to take a stab at Stephen King in the remake of Running Man
The actor owns that he is “working on [his] sprint.”
Finally, everyone is also excited for The Running Man Remake. What can you say about your own excitement for this and what you think about Edgar Wright’s adaptation?
Glen Powell: I’ve been doing a lot of sprinting. That’s all I can say. I worked on my sprint. [Laughs]
No, I will say that Edgar Wright has been one of my favorite filmmakers for as long as I can remember. I think ever 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 can concentrate.
The Running Man is something he’s so passionate about, and we really took the Stephen King book and just added a lot of fun Edgar Wright flavor to it, and it was awesome. This is going to be really fun; I’m super excited about it.
More about The Best Man’s Ghostwriter
A bad best man’s speech can destroy a marriage. 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 speeches. In order for the best man not to embarrass himself (and the newlyweds), Nate uses his list of weaknesses: don’t mention exes, don’t be correct, and don’t greet everyone, the list goes on. Knight’s system never fails. That is, until he meets Dan (Nicholas Brown), the sad, hopelessly awkward best man for the biggest social media influencer’s wedding of the year. On top of that, Nate just got 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 crazy and often idiotic world of male friendship and must come up with an answer to the one question most people never think about: Who is their best friend their best friend?
Check out our previous Glen Powell interviews here:
The best man’s ghostwriter Arrives September 12 on Audible. Pre-order the 10 episode series here.