Why Glen Powell Ditched Hollywood For His Home State At The Height Of His Career

It seems as though everyone is getting out of Hollywood these days. Stars like "Modern Family's" Eric Stonestreet and "Grey Anatomy's" Katherine Heigl left Los Angeles behind for quieter lives in the Midwest. Other celebrities abandoned the U.S. entirely — many citing Donald Trump's 2024 presidential election victory as the reason for leaving. But like his fellow migrating peers, Glen Powell has uprooted his life in the hills for something with which he's a little more familiar.

In a November 2025 interview with Vanity Fair, the Austin, Texas native revealed why he decided to move back to his home state. "I needed a spiritual place where I could hang my hat and truly be unplugged," Powell told the outlet. "If you live in LA...where everyone is sort of a part of this thing, you can't ever sign off of that app." The "Twisters" star moved back to Texas in 2024, which he told USA Today was a hopeful part of his overall life plan. "I think the goal was always — whenever I got enough traction out in L.A. — that I could ... return home." He's now much closer to his family and noted the mental health benefits that it offers him.

There aren't many public details about his $4 million Austin estate, except that one bathroom is dedicated to all things Texas Longhorns, per Texas Monthly. The University of Texas football team has a special place in Powell's heart, as it was almost his alma mater before he dropped out to pursue Hollywood. Now that he's back home, he's made plans to continue his UT career.

Many years have passed for Glen Powell since he was a full-time student at the University of Texas, but the actor is still gunning for his bachelor's degree. After starring in 2007's "The Great Debaters" alongside Denzel Washington, Powell dropped out of college to focus on acting. But, as he revealed to The Hollywood Reporter in May 2024, he re-enrolled. The "Top Gun: Maverick" star told Jimmy Kimmel in September 2025 that he had hopes to graduate in the spring of 2027. "Not a great timeline, but the problem is I told someone that I was taking classes — which is true, I'm enrolled at the University of Texas right now — and now there's like this ticking clock," said Powell, who noted that he did most of his studying online.

While he hasn't necessarily lived that college life in the dorms nor gone to frat parties, Powell has still found pockets of his college days through sports. In September 2025, the actor attended College GameDay at Ohio State — wearing the University of Texas colors, of course. In a post he made about the day on Instagram, Powell wrote: "I was born and raised in Austin and college football is my family's love language. I've been repping burnt orange since the day I was born and for me, College Game Day is as cool as it gets."