Glen Powell has no interest in joining Hollywood’s political battles.

The “Top Gun: Maverick” star says he deliberately stays away from politics because he believes political conversations have become increasingly divisive — and he would rather use his platform to bring people together.

“Over time, I realized that politics divide people,” Powell told Esquire. “People trying to prove their point — for me, it’s the worst version of a conversation. I genuinely do not like the discourse. It’s not as healthy as it once was.”

Powell said he respects people who publicly advocate for their political beliefs, but he doesn’t believe that is his role.

“I applaud people for jumping into those things and fighting for what they believe in,” he said. “If I were a political person, I would be talking about it. For me, my calling is elsewhere.”

It’s a position Powell has expressed before. In a 2025 interview with The Guardian, he offered a simple explanation for why he avoids political debates.

“I’m not a political person,” he said. “I like things that bring people together.”

That approach appears rooted partly in his upbringing. Although Powell’s mother worked in the Reagan administration at the U.S. Treasury Department, he said politics and current events were not regular topics around his family’s dinner table.

Instead, Powell sees movies as his way of communicating with people from different backgrounds and viewpoints.

“There’s a universal language of action,” he told Esquire, noting that action movies can explore themes audiences understand regardless of their politics.

“So, you’re not going to see me talk politics. But movies — that’s how I express myself,” Powell said. “Movies are a conversation; politics always felt to me like two people trying to prove a point.”

Powell has become one of Hollywood’s most recognizable leading men following roles in “Top Gun: Maverick,” “Anyone But You” and “Twisters.” But his success came after years of struggling to establish himself as an actor.

“There was a point where I realized that acting is not a meritocracy,” he previously told “CBS Mornings.” Powell spent more than a decade working toward the level of success he now enjoys, picking up experience not only as an actor but also in writing, producing and developing projects.

Away from Hollywood’s political debates, Powell is also emphasizing the importance of shared values in his personal life.

The actor opened up to Esquire about his relationship with “Landman” actress Michelle Randolph, saying their mutual commitment to family is part of what brought them together.

“We have the same values,” Powell said. “She loves her family. I love my family. And we both care about work a lot. We both like to show up for our partners.”

For Powell, that support goes deeper than career success.

“There’s something so lovely about someone rooting for you,” he said. “Someone who wants you to win in all the ways that are good for you as a human. Not just professionally but in all the ways that are good for your soul.”