Glen Powell Admits He Bombed a Script Read in Front of a Hollywood Icon
Glen Powell thought he’d torpedoed his big break after bombing a script read with a Hollywood icon—now he’s turning the cringe into a career-shaping lesson, told with equal parts self-roast and gratitude.
Glen Powell just told one of those painfully relatable early-career stories that makes you cringe and root for him at the same time. On Hot Ones, he walked through the moment he was sure he’d blown the biggest opportunity of his life — and how it ended up rewiring the way he thinks about acting.
The setup: a dream dinner, way too early
Powell says this all went down during his first week in Hollywood. He somehow landed at a dinner sitting next to Dustin Hoffman, which is the kind of seating arrangement that makes your brain forget how to function. Then it got weirder: Hoffman had actually seen Powell’s tiny role in The Great Debaters. Not only that, he told Powell he was good — and said they should stay in touch.
Shockingly, the compliment wasn’t just Hollywood small talk. A few days later, Hoffman called and invited him to his office to read for a project. Powell basically short-circuited from excitement.
The read that went off the rails
He showed up, Hoffman handed him a script, and they sat down. That’s when the awe kicked in. Powell started reading while hyper-aware that Dustin Hoffman was staring back at him. And the more he clocked Hoffman’s face, the worse the read got. In Powell’s head, he could see the life draining from Hoffman’s eyes — the silent, brutal judgment every actor fears. He knew he was losing him, then spiraled about losing him, then watched himself lose him even more. Full-on feedback loop. Total flop sweat moment.
- Week one in Hollywood: Powell meets Hoffman at dinner
- Hoffman had seen The Great Debaters and told Powell he was good
- Hoffman followed up and called days later
- Powell went to Hoffman’s office to read for a project
- The read tanked as Powell froze up and spiraled mid-scene
The takeaway (and a better headspace)
As brutal as that was, Powell says it ended up being a turning point. He stopped putting capital-L Legends on an untouchable pedestal and started treating them like what they are: people you’re trying to make something with.
You start seeing these guys as legends, and then you start seeing them as collaborators who are just trying to make magic for audiences around the world.
It’s a classic actor nightmare with a surprisingly healthy ending. And honestly, the fact that Hoffman not only noticed Powell that early but followed through with an invite? That part is wild all on its own.