'Top Gun: Maverick' actor Glen Powell to receive Bob Hope Award
Congressional Medal of Honor Society award to be presented at Medal of Honor Celebration in Knoxville
KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Medal of Honor Celebration Committee is pleased to announce that actor Glen Powell, currently starring with Tom Cruise in the blockbuster "Top Gun: Maverick," will receive the Bob Hope Award for Entertainment at the upcoming Medal of Honor Celebration in Knoxville in September. He will join fellow Medal of Honor award recipients, Ambassador Nikki Haley, NBC News Correspondent Courtney Kube and Dr. Timothy Miller at the Patriot Awards Gala on Sept. 10.
"I've spent much of my career trying to tell the stories of our men and women in uniform with integrity and accuracy," said Powell. "The heroes I have attempted to emulate on screen have become my family in real life. This award for me is the most special of my career in that it's given to me by a community in which I have the utmost respect, admiration and gratitude
The Bob Hope Award for Entertainment is reserved for people who, through their life's work in the entertainment industry, have distinguished themselves by outstanding service to or positive portrayal of the United States Military in literature or film. Former recipients include Clint Eastwood, Tom Selleck and Mark Walberg.
In addition to playing "Hangman" alongside Cruise's "Maverick," Powell won a Screen Actors Guild Award for his work in the Oscar-nominated film "Hidden Figures" opposite Octavia Spencer, Taraji P. Henson and Kevin Costner, in which he portrayed iconic astronaut John Glenn.
Powell will play real-life Navy hero and Medal of Honor Recipient Thomas Hudner in the upcoming historical war epic "Devotion," which tells the harrowing true story of two elite U.S. Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War and their heroic sacrifices, which would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen. The film will premiere at the Toronto Film Festival and will be released wide for Thanksgiving on November 23.
The Medal of Honor Celebration is an annual gathering for recipients of the United States' highest military award for valor. September will mark the second time the event has been held in Knoxville. Knoxville last welcomed recipients in 2014. Actor and director Gary Sinise, who played the character of "Lt. Dan" in the 1994 film "Forrest Gump," will once again serve as master of ceremonies for the Patriot Awards Gala in Knoxville. Sinise is also a previous recipient of the Bob Hope Award.