Despite being Hollywood’s hottest new star, Glen Powell has said he will finish studying for his degree while shooting his next movie.
The actor – who recently starred in Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You and the Twisters remake – plans to complete his Spanish and early American history degree at the University of Texas.
Powell, 35, is from Austin, Texas, and has recently moved back to his home state to be closer to his family, after living in Hollywood.
Speaking to IndieWire, Powell said he plans to attend Zoom classes while he’s working on his next film, a remake of 1987 sci-fi film The Running Man, in the UK.
“So I’m going to be in London, but I am going to be going back for proctored [supervised] exams,” he said.
“They’re letting me figure it out [with] distance learning.
“And I’m obviously going to be coming in, Zooming in for classes and whatnot, but I have to be back for the proctored exams.”
He will have to return to Texas “two or three times a semester”, and said The Running Man director Edgar Wright had been understanding.
“Edgar has been very nice about letting me finish my degree in the middle of his massive movie.”
In May, Powell was the cover star on a Hollywood Reporter issue about “the new A-list”.
He told the magazine he felt he was able to return to Texas because “getting to this point in Hollywood [means] that I can now leave Hollywood”.
He added that he felt “like I’ve earned the ability to go back to my family”, and was given the advice to move by fellow Texan actor Matthew McConaughey.
Powell also told the publication it was an “emotional thing” to finish the degree, which he started before he reached this level of fame.
“I think it’s really important to my mom and it’s more of an emotional thing for me,” he said.
The actor is incredibly close to his parents, who regularly attend press events with him, and two sisters.
In the interview with IndieWire, Powell clarified that he has “nothing against Hollywood” – but he would be happier spending time in Austin between projects.
“I love being around people who love entertainment, and I love what [Hollywood] represents.
“Coming here for little chunks of time and doing all the stuff I need to do here, it’s great.
“And I have nothing against Hollywood.
“I just realised, in terms of filling up the pieces of me that need to be refuelled between projects and doing stuff like that, that’s all Austin for me.”
