Texas-born actor Glen Powell takes obvious pride in his Lone Star State roots, and still spends significant time at his family’s ranch outside Austin. It must be a particular thrill then to be inducted into the Texas Film Hall of Fame — an annual honor that recognizes the best film talent associated with the state. IndieWire here exclusively announces Powell is now joining the hall of fame’s ranks.
You don’t have to be born in Texas (last year’s honorees John and Janet Pierson, long heavily involved with SXSW were not, nor was fellow honoree Warner Bros. co-chair Mike DeLuca) to receive the honor, but you need to have made an impact there.
And what an impact Powell has made in recent years, practically stealing the show out from under Tom Cruise and Miles Teller in “Top Gun: Maverick,” helping bring back the rom-com with “Anyone But You,” and appearing in multiple films by his friend Richard Linklater. It’s at Netflix’s Austin premiere of Linklater’s latest, “Hit Man,” that Powell will receive the award and be personally inducted by Linklater, who founded the organization that gives out the award, the Austin Film Society in the mid-1980s. That premiere will take place May 15 at the Paramount Theatre.
Then the next night, a Toast to Texas gala event at Austin’s Troublemaker Studios will honor Powell again. That will be a fundraiser for the Austin Film Society’s artistic and educational programs. Linklater is a regular at this event — last year he gave this reporter an update on “Merrily We Roll Along” and some solace to those who fear they may not live to see it completed 20 years from now. In fact, one of the items on auction at last year’s fundraiser was a chance to attend the premiere of “Hit Man” and meet Powell (another was to attend a 30th-anniversary screening of Linklater’s “Dazed and Confused” at a baseball field).
“It’s an honor to be part of inducting a fellow Austinite, my friend and collaborator Glen Powell, into the Texas Film Hall of Fame,” said Linklater in a statement shared with IndieWire. “The Texas Film Hall of Fame acknowledges Texans who have had a lasting impact on film culture, and Glen has already achieved this milestone. Glen’s incredible talent has been at the center of many Texas-made independent films, network television shows and now blockbusters like ‘Top Gun: Maverick,’ ‘Anyone But You’ and ‘Twisters.’ He’ll be adding his name to the Texas Film Hall of Fame alongside fellow legendary Texans like Matthew McConaughey, Forest Whitaker, Sissy Spacek, and Cyd Charisse, to name a few. Of course, I’m delighted that he’s being inducted at the premiere of ‘Hit Man,’ which we wrote together.”