Actor Glen Powell’s latest GQ photoshoot aimed to make an artistic statement on masculinity in Hollywood, but it ended up confusing everyone instead.
The magazine’s October issue, titled The State of The American Male, features the Top Gun: Maverick actor decked out in exaggerated muscle suits and cartoonish costumes, channeling a wide arrange of masculine archetypes.
From boxer to bodybuilder, president to cowboy, Powell embodied a parade of personas, none more bizarre than the one that landed on the cover.
“I thought those legs were real for a second!” a user wrote.
Glen Powell’s latest GQ cover confused viewers with a pair of fake, cartoonishly muscular, legs
“Built like the Hulk from the waist down and like Bruce Banner from the waist up,” another added.
The photo sees the actor wearing a thick, hyper-muscular bodysuit built to simulate enormous thighs barely contained by his Calvin Klein boxing briefs.
The suit was so well-made, many viewers initially believed the actor had done some serious work in the gym, but the cartoonish proportions (and the fact he had two belly buttons) quickly shattered the illusion.
Still, the point flew over many readers’ heads.
“Why didn’t they just hire a fit person instead of putting him in a fit suit?” a netizen asked.
The photos were meant to be a satirical take on the way masculinity has been portrayed in Hollywood
The shoot, styled by Mobolajiu Dawodu and photographed by Bobby Doherty, clearly aiming for satire, accompanies a long interview in which the actor speaks about his experiences in Hollywood and the different ways masculinity has been portrayed on the big screen over the years.
But for many scrolling past the cover without context, the execution has backfired.
Online, people were largely confused by the cover choice. Some mistook it for a fitness magazine, others for an article gushing about the actor’s “gym transformation.”
Those who did realize the muscles were fake were not impressed either, with one side finding humor in the absurdity, and the other being too distracted by the jarring visuals to engage with the message behind them.
The article positions Powell as the ultimate leading man, able to embody the many archetypes of Hollywood masculinity
Beyond the shoot’s visual choices, the GQ article aimed for something deeper: a reflection on how masculinity in Hollywood has shapeshifted over the decades.
The article positions Powell as the latest iteration in a long line of leading men, tracing a legacy that’s swung from stoic and rugged, to sensitive and brooding, to bumbling idiots, hyper-competent leaders, and everything in between.
Powell is currently starring in Chad Powers, an upcoming Hulu sports comedy series where he plays a disgraced quarterback trying to recapture his youthful fame.
The actor not only stars in the production, but was instrumental in its creation alongside American screenwriter Michael Waldron.
Chad Powers is set to premiere on September 30, 2025.
The piece includes similarly exaggerated photos of Powell as a cowboy, athlete, businessman, and other characters
The article goes on to describe Powell as a “conduit for the audience because he’s someone you can identify with or relate to.”
The actor then reflected on the balancing act that being a leading man in Hollywood entails.
“I just find that it’s cool and tough to be open and vulnerable,” he said, a message potentially lost amid all the noise about his inflatable thighs.
Similar photos spread throughout the piece include the actor as the President of the United States, with his chiseled features comically enhanced by what seems to be vaseline.
In another, instead of massive thighs, he sports an oversized upper-body suit, complete with a Balenciaga T-shirt and a duck face expression.
Online, talk about the cover photo seemed to drown out conversation about both the actor and the message behind it
Whether or not the GQ cover managed to create the intended reaction among readers, one thing is clear: it got their attention.
But for some, that might’ve come at the expense of a thoughtful portrait of Powell as Hollywood’s new everyman. Someone who can effortlessly slip into every version of masculinity the screen has demanded over the years.
“What am I even looking at?” a viewer asked.
“It’s impossible to describe how much I hate this,” another added.
“Why would they do this to him?”
“It scared me,” a viewer said, echoing the thoughts of many who were more confused than amused by the cover
