Despite his rising star power, Glen Powell does not want to be compared to Ryan Gosling. He expressed this while referencing Gosling's latest movie, Barbie.

An anonymous producer had high praise for Powell and his marketability in an interview with TheWrap. They pointed out that Powell appeals to “both females and males,” whereas Gosling's appeal “is mostly limited to female audiences.” Powell does not seem to agree.

This quote was posted on X (formerly Twitter), and Powell responded. He made it clear that he is not at the level of Gosling (yet) and shut down that comparison.

“Gosling is a legend,” his response began. “I'm just Glen.”

The last part of his post is a reference to Greta Gerwig's Barbie. Gosling's character has a power ballad titled “I'm Just Ken,” which he performed at the 2024 Oscars.

Who is Glen Powell?

Glen Powell promoting Apollo 10 1/2: A Space Age Childhood at SXSW on March 13, 2022.
Suzanne Cordeiro for American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK.

Recently, Powell has become one of the biggest names in Hollywood. He has recently gained fame for his roles in Top Gun: Maverick, Hit Man, Anyone but You, and Twisters.

He came out of nowhere. After starring in Top Gun: Maverick, Powell became a leading man. His roles in Anyone but You and Twisters showed his mainstream appeal. The latter was his first real chance to lead a blockbuster — he played a supporting role in Maverick and co-starred in Anyone but You with Sydney Sweeney.

Early in his career, Powell gained notoriety for his roles in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over and Fast Food Nation. He continued his career with roles in The Dark Knight Rises, The Expendables 3, Ride Along 2, and Hidden Figures.

In 2015, Powell starred in the first season of Scream Queens as Chad Radwell. He returned in the second season in a recurring role.

Coming up, Powell will return to the small screen. He will executive produce and star in Chad Powers for Hulu. The series is an adaptation of Eli Manning's sketch from his ESPN series, Eli's Places. In the original sketch, Manning went undercover during Penn State's walk-on tryouts.

Powell will star as a disgraced college quarterback who attempts to walk on at a struggling Southern college. He also co-wrote the pilot's script with Michael Waldron.

Ryan Gosling movies

Before Glen Powell began being compared to Ryan Gosling, he was one of the biggest names in Hollywood. Gosling is a three-time Oscar-nominated actor. He first gained fame for his role in The Notebook in 2004.

From there, he starred in Half Nelson (which landed him his first Oscar nomination), Blue Valentine, and All Good Things. He continued to build his star power throughout the 2010s with roles in Crazy, Stupid, Love, Drive, The Big Short, and The Nice Guys.

His performance in Damien Chazelle's La La Land landed Gosling his second Oscar nomination. He went on to star in Blade Runner 2049, First Man, and The Gray Man.

Recently, Gosling has landed his third Oscar nomination for his performance in Barbie — he plays Ken opposite Margot Robbie's Barbie. He then starred in David Leitch's The Fall Guy alongside Oppenheimer star Emily Blunt.