Every actor has to start somewhere. And for some actors, that means going through some painful experiences. Such is the case with actor Glen Powell who, before he broke out in the horror-comedy series Scream Queens back in 2015, actually had one such painful experience from none other than Tom Hardy himself during filming in the 2012 blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises. It was an experience that Powell recalled briefly while speaking with Entertainment Weekly (EW) about his upcoming film Top Gun: Maverick, playing Lieutenant "Hangman" Seresin who is one of the pilot trainees learning the ropes from Tom Cruise's character Maverick.
The scene in question saw Powell in the bit part of a stock trader who is interrogated and then headbutted by Hardy's villain Bane. Hardy, an actor known for getting a little too invested into his roles, apparently actually headbutted Powell and, according to Powell, nearly accidentally concussed him. The incident occurred when Hardy missed a warning cue, though Powell says it all ended in good fun...it was just painful:
"Bane walks into the stock exchange and just slams my head into a computer. The stunt that we had prepared is that Tom Hardy is supposed to tap me on the back before he slams my head on the computer keyboard. One take he forgets to tap me on the back and just slams my head on the computer. I was kind of dazed. I was like, Oh s–t, I don't know if I have a concussion or what. Chris [Nolan] was like, 'Can we do it again, just like that?' I was like, 'Yeah, yeah, we can do it again just like that.' He was like, 'I'm kidding! Go to the medic.'"
Powell has gone on to star in films such as Richard Linklater's Everybody Wants Some!! (2016) along with playing astronaut John Glenn in the drama Hidden Figures (2016) and starring opposite Zoey Deutch in Set It Up (2018). Every actor has to pay his dues, but luckily Powell survived and got the benefits, now set to have a major role in a major blockbuster.
Top Gun: Maverick co-stars Miles Teller, Jennifer Connelly, Jon Hamm, Lewis Pullman, Ed Harris, and Val Kilmer. It is directed by Joseph Kosinski and is set to hit theaters on May 27th.