Glen Powell says he is not burned out, even as his work has sped up and his calendar keeps filling. The actor said people are worried about him, but insisted he is fine and “having a blast.”
Powell said the advice that still drives him came from Denzel Washington, who told him, “Don’t look in other lanes.” He first heard it when Washington pushed him to move to Los Angeles, and Powell called it “the truest piece of advice I’ve ever gotten.”
The comments land at a moment when Powell’s profile has risen sharply and his workload has grown with it. Since 2022, he has appeared in eight movies, including six lead roles, along with two TV shows and one podcast series, a pace that would test most actors and has fueled the sense that he may be taking on too much.
Powell pushed back on that view by pointing to the work itself. He said he is having the time of his life working with people he has admired for a long time, adding that he is especially energized by projects that let him create and collaborate rather than simply show up and perform.
That includes Chad Powers, which he is co-creating with one of his great friends, and a return to that world in Season 2. He also said he is working on Judd Apatow’s The Comeback King, part of a run that has kept him moving from one project to the next without a long pause.
Washington’s influence on Powell stretches back to 2007, when they worked together on The Great Debaters. Powell said Washington was the one who encouraged him to pursue acting, a push that helped set the course for the career he now says he is fully enjoying.
His recent and upcoming slate also reflects how busy that career has become. Powell has already seen the release of How to Make a Killing and The Super Mario Galaxy Movie on the 2026 movie schedule this year, with The Great Beyond set to arrive later this year. He has also been working on films directed by J.J. Abrams and Apatow, reinforcing the picture of an actor whose pace has stayed high since Top Gun: Maverick widened the spotlight around him.
The blunt answer to whether the pace is too much is no. Powell says he is still excited, still working and still following the advice Washington gave him years ago: stay in your lane and keep moving.
