Actor Glen Powell would rather focus on making movies than step into today’s political arguments, and he is learning to protect his family time, too.
“Over time, I realized that politics divide people,” Powell said in a recent Esquire interview. “People trying to prove their point — for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation.”
The TOP GUN: MAVERICK star said political discussions rarely came up at the dinner table when he and his sisters were growing up. Now, he dislikes the discourse and believes it has become less healthy.
Other stars, including Dwayne Johnson, have shared similar sentiments recently.
“Politics is omnipresent and it’s forever. I don’t like it. I hate it at times. I hate the slinging. I hate all the ****** that comes with it,” Johnson said.
Powell applauded people who enter those conversations and fight for what they believe, but he simply does not see himself taking that role.
“For me, my calling is elsewhere,” he explained.
Related: Glen Powell Recalls ‘Reverence’ He Felt Working on This Movie
The rest of the profile gives that answer some human context. Powell wants a long career, but the next project cannot always swallow the present moment. He told Esquire about a stretch when he struggled to focus on friends and family even while spending time with them.
His mother and sisters noticed the change and encouraged him to set boundaries. Powell listened, hired an assistant and became more protective of his time and contact information. He also described taking stock of his family’s health and financial security, alongside his work as a producer at Barnstorm.
That concern builds on something he has discussed before. In a November 2025, Vanity Fair interview, Powell explained his move back to Austin, Texas, where his family lived, as a way to unplug from the entertainment industry’s constant chatter. He still loves movies, but he wanted a place where work did not dominate every conversation.
“I needed a spiritual place where I could hang my hat and truly be unplugged,”he told the outlet of returning to Texas, adding, “My parents just turned 70, and you want to enjoy every moment you have near your family.”
Admiring an actor’s priorities does not mean overlooking the content of his movies. Movieguide®’s review of THE RUNNING MAN credits its concern for truth, freedom and protecting family, but warns about excessive violence and foul language.
TOP GUN: MAVERICK received high praise from Movieguide® for its “strong moral, pro-American, patriotic worldview, and a redemptive arc built on sacrifice, forgiveness and reconciliation between Maverick and the son of his late friend.”
It a time when politics divide, it’s encouraging to see a star keep his focus on entertaining.
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