Glen Powell Recalls Bombing an Early-Career Script Read with Dustin Hoffman: ‘I’m Watching Him and I’m Losing Him’

Glen Powell is known for his confident charisma and star power, but early in his career, he found himself so starstruck by Dustin Hoffman that he bombed a script reading with the legendary actor.

Powell recounted the humbling story during a recent appearance on “Hot Ones.” “My first week , I found myself at a dinner sitting next to Dustin Hoffman,” he recalled. “He saw a movie I did called ‘The Great Debaters,’ and the fact that he saw this movie just blew my mind. I was like ‘This is the coolest moment of my entire life.'”

Hoffman complimented Powell on his acting and said, “I got something for you. Let’s keep in touch.” “The Graduate” actor followed through. “Literally a couple days later, I got a call at my house from Dustin Hoffman,” says Powell. “And I’m losing my mind. I’m like ‘This is the coolest thing,’ and [Hoffman’s] like ‘I’m gonna invite you to my office and I want you to read for something.'”

Powell took up the invitation. He visited Hoffman and was presented with some pages to read with him, but the scene quickly turned sour. “I started reading them, but I was so in awe that Dustin Hoffman was sitting across from me,” said Powell. “He’s one of my favorite actors of all time. As I’m reading, I’m watching the life drain from his eyes, being like, ‘This guy sucks so bad.’ And I was like, ‘Oh no.'”

The situation progressed for the worse. “I’m watching him and I’m losing him,” continued Powell. “And then I’m being like, ‘Yeah, you’re losing him,’ and then I look back and I’m losing him even more. And I left so defeated.”

Powell went on to explain that he was able to get over his starstruck tendencies in later auditions when he came to accept actors on all levels as players and performers in pursuit of something fun.

“What you start to realize is that all this business is is play. You start looking at these guys as, like, legends, and then you start looking at them as collaborators who are just trying to make magic for audiences around the world, you know?” he said. “I think that’s the difference. I think the excitement of this business hasn’t worn off, but my perspective has.”

While Powell is yet to be in a movie alongside Hoffman, he became a recognizable face after sharing the screen with Tom Cruise in 2022’s “Top Gun: Maverick.” He has since starred in the hit romcom “Anyone But You” opposite Sydney Sweeney and the adventure summer blockbuster “Twisters.” He is currently starring in “The Running Man,” directed by Edgar Wright and adapted from a novel by Stephen King.

Watch Powell’s full “Hot Ones” interview here: