Glen Powell took to social media to pay tribute to his late friend and fellow actor, Bill Paxton, ahead of the release of the new film ‘Twisters.’ Powell shared a photo of himself alongside Paxton on Instagram, writing, “As we release Twisters into the world today, I just wanted to look up and tip my hat to the legend that is Bill Paxton. A great friend of mine who saw poetry in the natural world. His boots are impossible to fill, but this life is all about chasing the greats.”
Powell and Paxton formed a close bond while filming the 2013 movie ‘Red Wing.’ Both actors hailed from Texas, which naturally fostered a connection between them. In a recent interview on ‘The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,’ Powell fondly reminisced about Paxton, who sadly passed away in 2017 from a stroke at the age of 61. Powell spoke of Paxton’s deep love for weather, recalling how the veteran actor provided him with research from the Apollo 13 mission to prepare for his role in ‘Hidden Fences.’
Paxton’s influence extended beyond research, as he also shared valuable acting tips with Powell. Powell revealed that Paxton taught him a trick for dealing with outdoor filming, a technique that he has employed throughout his career since meeting Paxton. “As an actor, sometimes you have to shoot outdoors and you’re kind of squinting and whatnot, and he taught me this trick that if you close your eyes and you look up at the sun, it warms your eyes up to the sun and you can open your eyes,” Powell explained to Colbert. “So while we were shooting ‘Twisters,’ I was shooting outdoors the whole time so I’d used that trick my entire career since meeting Bill. And on ‘Twisters,’ I really felt like every time I closed my eyes, I got to think of Bill, which was great.”
‘Twister’ is available to stream on Max, while ‘Twisters’ is now playing in theaters.