Before he earned widespread recognition for films like Top Gun: Maverick and Hit Man, Glen Powell had a minor role in Christopher Nolan’s superhero film The Dark Knight Rises. The 35-year-old actor played a trader, who has a brief interaction with Tom Hardy’s Bane only to be forcefully slammed onto a keyboard by the formidable Batman villain.
Powell recently reflected on his experience working in one of the greatest superhero films of all time, as he revealed that filming that scene with him made him aware of The Bikesiders star’s remarkable strength.
Glen Powell Recalled Being Slammed by Tom Hardy
In a recent conversation with IMDb, Glen Powell recounted his time working on The Dark Knight Rises. He asserted that although he had the minor role of a trader who stands up to Bane, the sequence in itself was very essential to the movie.
The Twister actor shared that his brief encounter with Bane included him tapping on his head before he forcefully slammed the trader onto a keyboard, knocking him out. “So we did it a few times. We all nail it. It was great,” he recalled.
However, things got a bit far during the final take. Powell revealed that Tom Hardy, who portrayed Bane, got so immersed in the scene that he accidentally struck him with such force that he had to see the medic. “Tom Hardy is not a weak man. He’s a force,” he said.
The actor further explained,
And then this last time, you know, I think we all just got kind of caught up in it, and he just slammed my head on the keyboard. And I remember just, like, getting kind of dazed.
The Anyone But You star also shared that Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister jokingly teased him about doing another take. While Powell was up for another take despite taking the impact, Nolan advised him to seek medical attention.
Glen Powell Reflects on The Dark Knight Rises as One of the Career Highlights
The Dark Knight Rises was a significant step in Glen Powell’s career, surpassing the scale of any previous films he had been part of. Reflecting on the opportunity, Powell shared that it was the biggest film of his career at the time.
The Dark Knight was a movie that was a cultural phenomenon. And what they did with that movie really changed superhero movies forever and changed cinema forever.
He shared that despite being a minor character, he had to audition multiple times. He also shared that he was not given the full narrative of what the sequence was, but only his part on Nolan’s classic red paper script.
I didn’t end up getting the whole script. You’re only getting your sides. And you don’t get a chance to take them home. You’re just reading them in a room on red paper, so that you can’t copy it, and you can’t take pictures of it, and there’s somebody watching you read it.
Initially feeling somewhat disconnected due to his limited understanding, Powell’s perspective shifted dramatically upon visiting the film set. He also shared that getting the call confirming his role in The Dark Knight Rises was one of the most magical moments of his career.
The Dark Knight Rises is available to stream on Max.
