2023’s Anyone But You was a surprise rom-com hit in an era when rom-coms aren’t exactly at their most popular. The movie did big box office despite a pretty terrible response from critics. That was largely attributed to the popularity and chemistry of the two leads, Glen Powell and Sydney Sweeney. The couple looked so good together, and seemed so friendly on the movie's press tour, that it was actually rumored Powell and Sweeney were having an affair.
Eventually, it would turn out that there was no affair, and Powell would later admit that the pair did play into the affair rumor as a way of promoting Anyone But You. The reason they looked so friendly is simply that they're really good friends. Not everybody was happy to hear that, suggesting that such things are an underhanded way to boost a movie’s promotion, but Powell doesn’t think so. To him, it’s all part of the show. He recently told Vanity Fair…
I think what people forget about with a press tour is that it’s its own sense of entertainment. I don’t think it’s duplicitous. For Twisters, I had the best time because I’m getting to literally live in a world of trucks, and tornadoes, and the South, and country music, and all these different things where I was like, ‘This is authentically all me.’ Shotgunning a beer onstage with Luke Combs is press, but that’s also something that I had the greatest time doing. That was so damn fun.
This may be news to some, but sometimes when celebrities get together, it’s business, not pleasure. While it’s usually not talked about openly that “spontaneous” events like Glen Powell and Luke Combs drinking beer on stage are actually planned promotional events, most people know that they are. But just because they’re planned, doesn’t mean they’re fake.
Powell says he had a blast on stage with Combs. It’s potentially the sort of thing the two could have done on their own, but in this particular case, it was part of a press tour. The same thing goes for his relationship with Sydney Sweeney. He may not be having an affair with her, but the idea of that only works because the two are close in real life. Powell said…
I love her. She’s the greatest. If you’re not having fun with this job, then I think you get burnt out. We just had a really good time. So we have just such a great friendship and really cheer for each other and it’s been a fun ride to do this thing together.
Glen Powell has compared his relationship with Sydney Sweeney to that of George Clooney and Julia Roberts and other rom-com partners who have done multiple films together. Perhaps we’ll see them together again. If we do, I suppose they’ll have to find a new way to get people extra excited.
