How Old Are Anyone But You Stars Glen Powell And Sydney Sweeney And Is It A Problem?
Glen Powell is 34, and Sydney Sweeney is 26. The "Top Gun: Maverick" star and "Euphoria" breakout are set to co-star in the new romantic comedy "Anyone But You" — a classic enemies-to-lovers tale set at an Australian destination wedding — and now, some Redditors are wondering if their age difference might be a bit of an issue. Powell and Sweeney, who were born in 1988 and 1997 (respectively), are set to play two people roughly the same age ... so is this a problem?
On this thread, Redditor u/saeculacrossing wrote, "I really like Sydney but I wish they had chosen someone closer to her age for a rom com. I'm sure it'll look better on screen but he honestly looks like her dad/older brother in every photo I've seen of them." u/Known-Peach-4037 agreed: "Yeah I hate how common it is that the female lead of a rom com is 10+ years younger than the male lead. There's a ~9 year gap between these two."
Real-life age gaps between on-screen romantic love interests can be pretty egregious. In Woody Allen's "Magic in the Moonlight," Emma Stone was 25 during filming, and her love interest Colin Firth was 53. Sofia Coppola's "Lost in Translation" straddles the line between romance and companionship with Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson, but the former was 52 and the latter 17. Ultimately, a nine-year difference doesn't seem like such a big deal compared to age gaps that span decades.
Glen Powell's star has majorly risen in recent years
Frankly, there's a lot of stuff about Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney that's more important to note than their age difference. Let's start with Powell, who broke onto the scene with a supporting role in the Ryan Murphy series "Scream Queens" in 2015. (He actually also showed up very briefly in 2012's "The Dark Knight Rises," but considering his character was named "Trader #1," you probably didn't notice him there.)
From there, Powell appeared in 2016's Best Picture nominee "Hidden Figures" and, two years later, booked the leading spot alongside Zoey Deutch in Netflix's popular original romantic comedy "Set it Up." As Charlie, assistant to the demanding Rick (Taye Diggs), he works with Deutch's Harper to set up Rick with Harper's equally tough supervisor Kirsten (Lucy Liu), hoping that the two workaholics might ease up if they find love. It doesn't work between the bosses, but sparks fly between Charlie and Harper.
"Top Gun: Maverick," though, is probably Powell's biggest role to date. Tom Cruise, of course, returns as Maverick in the long-awaited sequel, and Powell plays one of the Top Gun mission candidates, Lt. Jake "Hangman" Seresin. There are a lot of familiar faces playing recruits in this movie, including Lewis Pullman, Jay Ellis, and Manny Jacinto, but Powell's Hangman shows up to save the day at the very end, rescuing Maverick and Lieutenant Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw (Miles Teller) after they get stranded in enemy territory.
Sydney Sweeney got her start on HBO prestige dramas
Glen Powell's shown up in movies over the past few years, while Sydney Sweeney has mostly stuck to the small screen — but she's appeared in some of the most popular prestige dramas in recent memory. After getting her start with a small turn on "The Handmaid's Tale," Sweeney scored a leading role on Sam Levinson's hit series "Euphoria" as Cassie Howard, an insecure girl looking for the love her father couldn't provide (although going after her best friend's ex-boyfriend results in some pretty awful drama). Sweeney also played a major role on the first season of "The White Lotus" as Olivia Mossbacher, the sullen teen daughter to Connie Britton's powerful CEO Nicole.
Notice a trend here? Aside from projects like HBO's original film "Reality," Sweeney does play a lot of teenagers ... while Powell has been playing full-grown adults ever since "Scream Queens." That might be why some fans of both actors feel like the age gap looks a little weird on paper. However, "Anyone But You" gives Sweeney a chance to prove that she's ready to play a more mature role, so those same fans should reserve judgment until they see Sweeney and Powell in action together.
"Anyone But You" hits theaters on December 22, 2023.