Glen Powell reveals tips for Tom Cruise’s ‘Running Man’ stunt
Glen Powell shares Tom Cruise’s advice and reveals the most difficult stunt he did in The Running Man.
Glen Powell has listened to “Saturday Night Live” before. Now he is having dinner with his whole family.
Powell will host “SNL” for the first time on Nov. 15, the same weekend that his latest film, “Running Man,” is released. For Powell, a longtime fan of the show, it was like a late-night wish he’d had since childhood.
“I’ve wanted to do this like my whole life,” Powell told USA TODAY. “There is no stage I could have dreamed of more than Thirty Rock.
“This is truly a symbolic rite of passage and I really can’t wait.”
He admits there are some nerves. “It’s ‘SNL.’ It’s the craziest live format you can imagine.” But with that said, “pressure is a privilege. For me, it’s just the top of the mountain.”
At least Powell has some experience on the “SNL” stage. In a March 2024 episode hosted by her Anyone But You co-star Sidney Sweeney, Powell appeared in a monologue and performed a gag about the pair’s rumored relationship. He also made a brief cameo appearance in one of Sweeney’s sketches.
What were his first impressions of the show? “You can see the last-minute nature of it,” Powell said. “For example, I was thinking of doing a little bit in her monologue. What I didn’t expect was that maybe 10 minutes before they filmed[that]sketch, they wanted me to do it. So they said, ‘Hey, do you want to be in this last sketch?'” I was like, “Wait, what am I doing?” There was zero preparation. I went out there and read the cue cards. I just had to muster up the courage to get through it, but it was fun.
“In an age where everything is edited and cherry-picked, ‘SNL’ is one of the last great performances, and they’re building this[show]every week, and you see all the costumes and makeup and people creating these characters out of nothing. And the rehearsals for it all happen in a week.”
“SNL” is one of the many “amazing pinch-me moments” he’s enjoyed lately. His star has risen rapidly over the past few years with films like “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Hitman,” and “Twisters.” He had another productive year in 2025, starring in and producing Hulu’s football comedy “Chad Powers” and traveling the world on “Running Man.”
Powell sees many actors separating their work and personal lives, but his focus this year is figuring out how to bring friends and family along.
“You’ll never see me happier than when I’m on set,[but]when I have time on the weekends, I’ll disappear and come back,” Powell says. “So I am able to fill my life with great experiences, not just work-related, and give my all to everything I do.
“I’m really happy. It’s really fulfilling. I get to take my guys to NASCAR, F1, the World Series. I’m like, what could be better than this?”
