7 Foods Glen Powell Can’t Live Without

Oh my God, wow, so good.

Thank you for doing your research.

You're wondering what I'm doing below the table.

I'm just crushing up this Butterfinger.

[bright music]

[Interviewer] Today we've prepared

some of your favorite foods.

I'm very excited.

My favorite memories are sort of around the kitchen table,

laughing, late night wine and people making desserts

and trying out different recipes and stuff like that.

And so these food groups that you're about to see

represent the Glen Powell palette, you know,

and they're kind of all over the map.

[Interviewer] Is this breakfast tacos?

Yes, I conjured them up.

Okay, growing up in Austin, Texas,

if you aren't obsessed with breakfast tacos,

you need to get the hell out.

Some people put bacon on them, you know, potatoes, cheese.

I prefer mine with brisket and jalapeno.

I would actually like maybe some hot honey ketchup

and some green chili sauce.

[Interviewer] Take a bite, give us your review.

What do you think?

Oh my god, that's very good, like very good.

Do you want one of these tacos?

[Interviewer] Hell yeah.

Dude, that's so good.

Oh my God.

[Interviewer] When you initially moved to LA,

I read that part of the impetus for you to move

was talking with Denzel Washington.

You know, I did a movie when I was a senior in high school

called The Great Debaters that Denzel Washington directed.

After that movie, as it was about to come out,

he called me, I was in my dorm room at University of Texas

and he said, Hey, are you coming out for the premier?

And I said, Yeah, I'm coming out for the premiere.

And he said, We should sit down with my agent.

Nobody can give you a career in Hollywood.

You have to go on your own path.

And it's always gonna be a gauntlet,

but just the fact that Denzel had confidence in me,

Ed had confidence in me really meant the world.

So it's like I still see Denzel all the time.

[funky music]

♪ Hey ♪

This is sort of a paleo breakfast sandwich.

Sometimes when you're on movies,

unfortunately, you gotta stay a little in shape.

You can't be carbo loading all the time.

So this is my attempt

that to do like a typical breakfast sandwich,

but make it a little healthier.

Sweet potato, put it in an air fryer,

make it a little crispy

so it kind of feels a little bit more like bread.

You put some kale, avocado, fried egg, and you're golden.

That's pretty good, pretty good.

[Interviewer] How do you think about nutrition

and like, do you work with a nutritionist?

Do you have somebody that helps you figure that out?

There's all these sort of demands on your body,

not only physically, but aesthetically.

And so you start to become really aware

of what's in your food.

I just did a A24 movie called Huntington

where I was down to 165.

For Running, Man, I was at 200.

I just take a beating in this movie

and physically I put my body through stuff

I'd never had to do before.

Eating the right thing can like, preserve you from injuries

or pulling stuff on.

And especially for that movie

in which I'm like running off of things

and flying off of rooftops

and falling down things,

you have to basically have a body

that can sustain serious hits.

So the fun part is like, not even just looking good,

but being able to be bulletproof,

I think food played such a huge part of that.

[Interviewer] If you're doing a ton of running,

Did you take inspiration from another guy who's famous

for doing a lot of running? I did.

I got some tips.

Everybody that I asked gave me one piece of advice.

They're like, Just study Tom Cruise.

So, I went to the source, yeah.

[Interviewer] What's the tip for running on screen?

Is there a way to sell it?

I can't share any of those secrets yet,

but I'll just tell you, it works.

[funky music]

This is a hefty barbecue burger.

That is great.

This is just a Texas hamburger,

a real thick piece of meat, toasted buns.

Try to toast it with mayo.

Always better than butter doesn't burn.

Fresh tomato here, some pickles,

and hopefully some crispy bacon.

[Interviewer] That'd be a sloppy bite.

Okay, that's a fantastic burger.

[Interviewer] I notice you don't have any cheese on there.

And also going for the gluten-free bun.

I'm heading straight from this booth right back to set.

I have to be in shape for the next movie

in a matter of days.

So there's gotta be some sacrifices somewhere.

So I went with the sacrifice with a gluten-free bun.

[Interviewer] When you gotta bulk up,

what are you doing to get all the calories?

Yeah, I mean, you just gotta eat even more, you know?

[Interviewer] You don't like beer and meat for protein?

No, no, no, when I'm shooting,

I usually try to stay as clean as possible.

I just did this show called Chad Powers

where I wear prosthetics on my face.

It's Mrs. Doubtfire style.

And I couldn't drink because in the Georgia heat,

if I sweat, the alcohol would release the glue in my mask.

So I had to go sober

because my face would literally fall off.

[Interviewer] You've worked with some pretty amazing

directors over the years,

but I think people maybe have forgotten

that you were in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Night Rises.

Stockbroker number two. Being in the scene.

[Interviewer] What was it like

getting chucked around by Bane?

Painful, painful, Tom Hardy is not a weak man.

No, it was a really special time.

You never forget those moments as an actor,

when you are on set on a movie

that you know everybody in the world wants to be on.

[upbeat music]

Okay, a little bit of a secret

is if you want your chicken wings to be a little crispy,

put a little baking soda on 'em or baking powder.

Dry 'em out, pat 'em out,

and then soak 'em in barbecue sauce.

[Interviewer] Speaking of sauces, we have your sauces.

Great, I love sauce.

The whole family just can basically drink barbecue sauce

as a drink.

Growing up in Texas,

I really didn't know what's in your food.

You know what tastes good.

You know what's at a good price point.

But the fun part about now knowing all the preservatives

that are in most condiments,

I thought if we could make a condiment,

a range of condiments that was affordable,

that was tastier, and it was better for you,

then we're gonna win.

There's no excuse not to have it.

That's what we're solving with Smash Kitchen

is we're taking all the bad stuff out

and only keeping real ingredients in.

So the fun part about it

is that when I'm like actually on a job,

when I have to be like in shape for a movie,

you can still live your life.

You don't have to compromise.

You can still be eating well,

but also like, you know, stuff that tastes good

but also is good for you.

[funky music]

All right, my grandmother, Grammy was a gnocchi pro.

Grammy had always had this phrase it was just,

Eat my honey, eat.

It was always about seconds and thirds

and just trying more food.

Gnocchi was always sort of just one of her staples.

Are these fresh meatballs?

[Interviewer] Yeah.

Yeah, it looks very, this looks legit.

Very good, how did you guys do this gnocchi?

[Interviewer] Secret in the kitchen.

Okay, secret in the kitchen.

Sometimes what I like to do with the meatballs

instead of several meatballs,

I will make one giant meatball.

It sort of allows you to have

like a little more pink in the center.

So it's like a gob stopper, like a meat gob stopper.

You know, you get to the gooey center a little bit.

It's a little more of a Texas treat.

[Interviewer] You're a cook.

I mean, I try.

[Interviewer] Let's say you're making a meal for a date.

Okay.

[Interviewer] What are you going for?

This is definitely one, it can get a little messy.

Also, I feel like, you know, I cook a mean steak.

Here's a little bonus for you.

[bright music]

Is this fried okra?

Oh wow, and classic fried okra.

This is great, I really appreciate this.

One of my favorite meals growing up was chicken fried steak

with mashed potatoes and gravy and fried okra.

Usually the fried okra,

it's almost like balls of okra that you fry.

I really appreciate the whole okra.

This is a different technique that you rarely ever see,

especially outside of Texas

and I really appreciate it, it's great.

[okra crunches]

Very good, that's very good.

Thank you for doing your research.

I haven't had fried okra in a hot minute.

[bright music]

Do you have a knife or a spoon?

Put it in a seat, let's see how soft this one is.

Okay, this is actually good.

I probably don't need all the tools.

I'm just gonna...

If you guys are wondering what I'm doing below the table,

I'm just crushing up this Butterfinger, hold on.

[Interviewer] That's part of the cold open.

It's part of the cold open.

[Interviewer] That's it.

All right, and we're done.

So Amy's Ice Cream in Austin, Texas is my happy place.

Amy's Ice Cream taught me this trick

where you take Blue bell ice cream,

you crush up Butterfingers

'cause they do all these crushing in there.

And also what's cool about Amy's, I can't do any of this,

but they do cool tricks and they flip all this stuff on it.

Do you wanna get in on this?

Might get in on there. Yeah, get in on this.

Oh my god, that's so good.

Yeah, if I'm on a treat yourself moment,

this is it. Oh yeah!

Isn't that amazing?

[Interviewer] Absolutely.

So that's my favorite dessert.

Also, when they were asking me about my favorite dessert.

I rarely, I haven't had this in years,

but as a kid I used to love this.

Dr. Pepper, made in Texas.

It's like Gatorade where I'm from.

It's what real athletes drink.

And you throw this in there

'cause you want this to...

Sorry guys, there goes that table.

I hope this [beep] wasn't expensive.

[interviewer chuckles]

All right, hold on.

I would invite you to stick a straw in here,

but I think that'd be crossing the lines.

But that's pretty damn good.

[Interviewer] They say, The best way to a man's heart

is through his stomach.

Is that the best way to your heart?

I think that's always been the Powell's love language.

Again, my dad, we have this tradition.

Every time I'm shooting a movie,

I'll do the research and find the best dumpling

in whatever city I'm shooting in.

And my dad will sample all the dumplings.

We call him the dumpling daddy.

Maybe when I'm promoting the next thing,

like I'll come back

and we'll come back with the dumpling daddy

and do some dumpling taste tests.

He's very good. I love it.

I did not know what I was walking into

and this was an incredible food journey.

I'll see you at the dining table soon [chuckles].

[bright ambient music]