Glen Powell Thanks Cheech Marin for Invite to Sit at “Cool Table” for Lunch on ‘Spy Kids 3’ Set
picked up ’s Star of the Year award Thursday night, and he dedicated a piece of his acceptance speech to sharing a story about one of his early jobs when he was, well, not the movie star he is today.
The gig came courtesy of Robert Rodriguez’s 2003 franchise effort, Spy Kids 3: Game Over, and it marked Powell’s first film role. The part was so small that he’s listed on IMDb as “Long-fingered boy.” But something happened on set that Powell has never forgotten.
“I don’t know if is in the room,” Powell said as he scanned the crowd seated inside the Colosseum at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. “Hey, my boy Cheech.”
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Marin happened to be seated next to his longtime creative partner Tommy Chong as they were on the honoree program as well. The duo picked up a career achievement in comedy trophy during the Big Screen Achievement Awards.
Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong accept the Career Achievement in Comedy Award.
(Photo by Jerod Harris/Getty Images for CinemaCon)
“I was 12 years old, and you and Danny Trejo invited me to sit with you at lunch on my first day,” said Powell, 36. “I was the new kid at school, and that was the coolest lunch table. I’ll never forget that gesture. When you’re pursuing this career and you have those sort of pinch-me moments, you don’t forget those and especially when no one’s inviting you to sit at the cool table. So, thank you.”
Powell had previously told The Hollywood Reporter in a cover story what the opportunity of playing even the smallest part in Spy Kids meant to him. It’s easy to see why as the film has a pretty stacked cast that includes Antonio Banderas, Carla Gugino, Alexa PenaVega, Sylvester Stallone, Salma Hayek, Tony Shalhoub, Steve Buscemi, George Clooney, Selena Gomez, Elijah Wood, Holland Taylor and more.
Tonight’s sweet onstage moment was followed by another compliment Powell lobbed toward Tom Cruise, his Top Gun: Maverick co-star and good friend who also happened to be in the building today.
“This morning I got to unleash the first footage of right in front of Tom Cruise’s Mission Impossible: Final Reckoning. So it felt very full circle to be there with my theatrical filmmaking professor and the running man who has taught me the extreme work ethic that it takes to fill theaters and entertain audiences around the world.”
As Powell mentioned, his appearance at CinemaCon this year came as unveiled a first look at the Edgar Wright action film, which also stars Josh Brolin and Colman Domingo. During the studio’s presentation, Powell said he’s never worked harder than he did on The Running Man. But even as he prepared to leave the convention with another accolade to add to his meteoric rise in Hollywood, he made sure to note just how measured he is about the attention.
“We all know you’re only one flop away from being the star of yesterday, so I’m not going to get cocky.”
The Running Man team of Powell, Wright, Domingo and Josh Brolin.
(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
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