Glen Powell reveals how Tom Cruise advised him to "choose the movies" and not "roles" on The Graham Norton Show 

Glen Powell, The Running Man star, appeared on The Graham Norton Show recently on November 14, 2025, and revealed how there was one time when Tom Cruise gave him crucial advice. He mentioned that Cruise told him to "choose the movies" and not "roles" when he is making a choice in his career.

Glen Powell was explaining how Top Gun remains one of the best movies and how he was not about to take up the role. This is when Tom Cruise's advice changed his decision and transformed his "saddest phone call" into the "best decision" he ever made. Read on to know what exactly the actor said about the incident appearing on The Graham Norton Show.

The Graham Norton Show: Here is what Tom Cruise advised Glen Powell

In The Graham Norton Show, Glen Powell explains a day of his life when he was drinking on his balcony, wearing a tank top with the American flag on it. He recalled how he had auditioned for the Top Gun film for Miles Teller's role and got a call from the director that they weren't giving the role to him. Instead, they had another role for him. This made him sad, and he was almost about to reject the offer altogether,

"Top Gun was a movie that changed my life. There was a time when I wasn't going to do it. Originally, I auditioned for Miles Teller's job, then I got a call from Jow Kezinski, the director of the film. It was on July 4th, and I was wearing an American flag tank top. I was on my balcony having a tequila soda, and Joe Kazinski called me and said, 'Hey, we are not giving you the role.' My buddy thought I was getting Top Gun. So it is me, sad in my American tank Top. He was filming me on a super sad phone call."

When Tom Cruise and Glen Powell later talked, Cruise advised him to always choose good films and not good roles, as Powell revealed in The Graham Norton Show,

"But then Tom and I sat down, and he kinda gave me some advice. He's like, I just told him that I don't think the role is up to snuff and I was a little better. You don't want to get broken up with and then be like Hey, can we still be friends. Tom Cruise said, 'You know how I have done in my career', and I said How. He said, 'Well, I don't choose the roles, I choose the movies. I choose good movies and then make those roles great, ' and he kinda convinced me right then and there. And it was the best decision I have ever made."

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Glen Powell is starring in a 2025 film, The Running Man, playing the character Ben Richards. The film paints a dystopian world with Ben joining a TV reality show where the contestants need to survive 30 days while being hunted by trained assassins. Ben's daughter needed the price amount to save her life, and that is why Ben entered the ugliest game ever.

He talked about the film on The Graham Norton Show, appearing for the interview post the film's release on November 14, 2025.

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