Four Years Overdue

The Top Gun: Maverick co-star, who was supposed to host SNL four years ago, reveals a special guest he flew out to New York

Glen Powell‘s debut as Saturday Night Live host finally occurred after four years in the making—and for four years, a UPS driver who delivered to his house wondered if he was making it all up.

But the actor removed all doubts by inviting the driver to Studio 8H and bringing him up on stage.

Powell, the co-star of 2022’s Top Gun: Maverick, had been offered the hosting role for SNL‘s Christmas show in 2021. When he got the news, he said, a UPS driver had just pulled up, and Powell and his family celebrated by taking a group photo with him.

But when the film got pushed back due to Covid, Powell said, executive producer Lorne Michaels told him: “Without Top Gun, no one will know who the f— you are.” And the invitation was pulled.

“So, I didn’t end up hosting. Which means for four years, this UPS driver was going around saying Glen Powell is a liar,” he said. What feels even better than hosting, he added, is “proving that I am not crazy.”

Powell, 37, then explained how Mitch ended up in the studio audience.

“This is real: my sisters tracked him down—because the women in my family are terrifying—and they found the cell number of this guy,” he said. “And to prove to Mitch that I’m not a liar, I flew him all the way to New York—coach. I don’t know how Running Man is going to do, yet.”

“He thought it was a scam, but he still came,” the Texas native said. “And he is sitting in the audience tonight.”

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The two then recreated the picture they took years ago.

“I had to wait my entire life plus four years to be here, but if I know anything, it’s that the best things in life don’t happen overnight,” Powell joked. “And no one knows that better than UPS.”