“Hot Glen Summer” this. “The Glenaissance” that. For everyone who’s joining Glen Powell’s online fandom—welcome. Although it’s been six years since he appeared in the romantic comedy Set It Up, capturing hearts and minds with a role that showed off his undeniable charm and introduced him as a legit Hollywood hunk, it seems the former child star is suddenly getting his flowers.
Glen’s variety of celebrity isn’t new to Texans. We’ve seen it in Taylor Kitsch’s portrayal of Tim Riggins in Friday Night Lights, a young Patrick Swayze in, well, anything, Twister star Bill Paxton, Jensen Ackles in Supernatural, and notably, Matthew McConaughey, a guy Glen is often compared to. It’s the quintessential frat boy (Sigma Phi Epsilon) type, who grew up in West Texas (almost true: Glen graduated from Austin’s Westwood High) and has been humbled the perfect amount by his sisters (he has two) while chasing dreams of stardom (for 21 years to be exact).
Thanks in part to the attention he grabbed for the movie Hit Man (which was inspired by a Texas Monthly story) in May and his cheeky summer promo tour for Twisters, an army of Glen online stans are activated. Having fallen in love with the way he looks, dresses, conducts himself in public, and interacts with fans, they can’t stop posting about it. If you’re not part of this Glenomenon, it may seem like an oversaturation of Powell content on social media. But the hype reflects the fandom’s true desire: to be the ones who discovered the next big thing, to demonstrate why he is so wonderful, and to persuade the rest of the internet to see Glen and all his projects the way they do.
As a result, he’s everywhere. As Vanity Fair put it, “It’s officially the summer of Glen Powell.” Since the announcement of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign switcheroo, there’s even talk of Glen becoming her running mate. So what if his main qualification is meeting the age requirement (35 years)?
The enthusiasm for Glen runs both wide and deep. Some are smitten with the star in an old-school marriage plot kind of way: “Glen Powell, you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love—I love—I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on,” writes one X user. Another spoke about Powell in the internet’s favorite way of expressing platonic appeal: “Glen Powell it seems I’ve grown quite fond of you tho there are no sexual urges or desires you come to me as a long lost friend whom I once picked apples with in papa’s orchard.”
Whether it’s love, lust, or simply because he seems like the type of guy who’d be chatty in the checkout line at H-E-B, the internet’s current crush comes down to a few eternal truths about Glen:
He’s Got Texas Swagger.
Glen, who’s been sporting a cowboy hat on the red carpet lately, loudly and proudly claims the Lone Star State as his home (he even moved back to Austin this year). Paired with that Southern drawl, he’s eye candy for the current cowboy craze.
His swagger comes from the way he walks; it’s with a gait that’s somewhere between the bad guy and the sheriff. Maybe it’s how he wears those Levi’s. “If you’re wondering about the crease fades, it’s something you’ll often find on jeans that have been starched and pressed by cowboys in an effort to gain added protection against dirt and make them last longer,” a men’s style writer for GQ wrote of what may become fall’s biggest denim trend, thanks to Glen.
He’s Got Perfect Hair.
Underneath that hat, Glen’s hair isn’t too long, and it isn’t too short. It’s just right. He looks well-groomed but also effortless—like he just went for a summertime swim, ran his fingers through his locks, hopped in his truck, and arrived on time for our date.
He’s a Family Man.
The Powells are a tight-knit clan—and they seem fun, too. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Glen revealed his family owns a mechanical bull as well as a monkey named Charlie. Also quirky: the recurring bit where his parents, Glen Powell Sr. and Cyndy, show up at red carpet events with handmade posters. “Stop trying to make Glen Powell happen” read his mom’s sign at the Hit Man premiere. For Twisters promo, she went with “I changed Glen Powell’s diapers.”
Glen is also the best uncle ever. He brings up his niece and nephew, who call him Uncle Boom Boom, any chance he gets. It’s extremely adorable.
And, if it wasn’t obvious, he’s a middle child.
He’s an Adorable Dog Dad.
A good-looking guy with a dog is hard to resist. Especially when they wear matching outfits. Glen feeds into the internet’s infatuation with him by carrying his old terrier-poodle mix pup Brisket (appropriately named) on the red carpet and bringing him up during his summer press tour to make everyone swoon.
“I’m realizing what kind of father I’m going to be to a baby human someday,” he said during a recent interview. The man knows what he’s doing.
He’s Brat.
One of the most important cultural conversations happening online this summer has nothing—and everything—to do with Glen Powell. It centers around the release of Charli XCX’s album Brat. Understanding what it means to be “brat” is part of the discussion. Someone is “brat” when they’re at their most unhinged, most carefree, and most hot. The brat lifestyle is steeped in club nostalgia, the desire for some sort of debauchery (like chugging a beer onstage at a Luke Combs concert perhaps?) in a time of political strife, flirting with reckless abandon, and a desire to have fun. Doesn’t that sound like Glen?
