Glen Powell knows he seems to be everywhere right now — but he makes no apologies for it.
“I find that being hard working, it’s something I really admire in my colleagues and other people,” Powell tells Variety‘s Awards Circuit Podcast. “I mean, work ethic is something, especially when you’re on a film set and you have all these people kind of investing in something, I love that quality. At the same time, I think people are worried about me. But I’m fine. I’m having a blast.”
Powell spoke to the Awards Circuit Podcast about his Hulu series “Chad Powers,” which earned high critical marks for its story about a washed-up former college football star who concocts a way to recapture his glory back on the field at a new school, via heavy disguise. Given his successful theatrical career, it might be surprising that Powell had the time to star in and executive produce a TV show — but “Chad Powers” played into his passions.
“I’m getting to co-create a show with one of my my great friends, and live in a world that I really love,” he says. “The world of college football is something that anybody who knows me knows, I’m a massive fan. I’m getting to work with a very deep bench of some of the most talented actors in Hollywood, and I’m having a great time. So I’m not burnt out. I’m getting to do all that, and my friends and my family get to visit the set,so I really don’t feel like I’m missing out on anything. I have this stretch coming up where I’m going to take a bit of a break. But it’s not a break because I’m burnt out. I’m not going to work for the sake of working, but I work because of all the things I love, I really do care about.”
On this episode of the Awards Circuit Podcast, Powell talks “Chad Powers,” his busy career and what’s next — while also looking back at his first time in Variety and taking the 10 Questions quiz. Listen below!
“Chad Powers,” of course, started as a gag bit on Eli Manning’s ESPN series “Eli’s Places.” In reimagining the character in a TV series, Powell and co-creator Michael Waldron came up with a bit of a “Mrs. Doubtfire”-meets-“Breaking Bad” twist, inside the sports film genre.
“The way those those storylines can kind of intersect become inherently interesting,” he says. “For me as an actor, there was something exciting about taking a very big swing with a lot of things that were my favorite type of inspiration points.”
Powell and Waldron mapped out “Chad Powers” over the course of three seasons. “There’s a beginning, middle and end,” Powell says. “I know how I want this thing to land for audiences. Sometimes it’s just not saying, ‘Hey, we’re gonna drag this thing out until it can’t go anymore.’ We have a great mic drop for where this is all going.”
He won’t share how “Chad Powers” might end up. But at the very least, since there’s a big lie at the center of the premise (as his character, Russ Holliday, sees his stunt as a rookie quarterback in prosthetics spiral out of control), Powell says the heat will continue to be turned up. He says he relished the challenge of mapping out the idea: “How do you turn the dial with an audience where it cranks up in intensity and drama and and humor over the course of it, and how something kind of silly can kind of become something really rich and emotional and nuanced.”
Some of that comes from the very creation of the character of “Chad Powers,” including the prosthetics and the voice work.
Expect the tension to rise in Season 2, Powell adds, as more people discovers Russ Holliday’s deception. “The second season is where we wanted to kind of turn the dial on the fact that this lie is actually ruining people’s lives,” he says. “It becomes more ‘Uncut Gems.’ It becomes a much more wild, twisted, dark thing mixed with all that fun comedy. This was always the intention. Waldron and I were like, Okay, how can we take this silly, fun story and take it on the most twisted path for audiences?
“This whole story is really a contemplation on identity and how you label yourself, and how you allow other people to label you,” Powell adds. “Over the course of his his journey, he’s labeled himself as a guy who’s a bit of a loser. He believes he’s cursed. He’s kind of taking no accountability. What happens in his effort to prove that that theory wrong, he ends up doubling down on his worst instincts and kind of becoming his own curse for a team that has no idea they’ve doubled down on the biggest lie in sports history.”
Variety Awards Circuit Podcast has been looking back at guests’ very first time in Variety and Daily Variety, and for Powell, it was on July 20, 2012, as he landed the lead role in the film “Red Wing” and had just wrapped on the feature “Writers” (eventually titled “Stuck In Love”), opposite Greg Kinnear and Lily Collins.
“I remember I auditioned several times for that movie,” Powell said of “Red Wing.” “It’s like a very interesting thing to think about, getting hired to do anything. Even the movie ‘Writers,’ which the final title was ‘Stuck in Love.’ I was working with Lily Collins, who’s amazing.”
10 QUESTIONS WITH GLEN POWELL:
1. Childhood nickname: “’Boom Boom.’ On the sports team, they called me ‘Boom Boom Powell.’ Now my niece and nephew call me ‘Uncle Boom Boom.’”
2. Something you loved as a kid but can’t believe you were into it now: Pokemon cards. “I recently got to do the Super Mario movie, because I used to love video games as a as a kid. I got to play Star Fox. I was obsessed with Star Fox, and I now get to be Star Fox in this in this movie. So it’s funny how these little things end up sneaking back on you in the entertainment business.”
3. Go-to Karaoke or sing-in-the-shower song: “I’m actually doing a movie with Judd Apatow set in the world of country music. So I’ve actually been dusting off a lot of country karaoke. So I’d probably say, ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’ [by Toby Keith].”
4. Give me an alternate title for your show: (I didn’t ask this one)
5. What’s your secret talent?: “I can shotgun a beer really fast.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate chip cookie dough.
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: “If you can call my dog Brisket an item, I’d probably say Brisket.”
8. What TV show in all of history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “When I first moved out to LA I really wanted to be on sitcoms. I just loved the cast mentality, the live audience thing. I went and saw a bunch of tapings when I first moved out here. Obviously, ‘Friends’ is one of the great ones I loved. ‘Everybody Loves Raymond,’ ‘you know, yeah, ‘Two and a Half Men.’ ‘Fresh Prince of Bel Air,’ you know, ‘Sister, Sister.’ That was my big dream when I first moved out to LA, if I could get on a sitcom, that would be the that would be the ultimate thing. And I’ve never done it!”
9. Fictional character you most admire: “When I’m when I’m on a movie, I tend to binge characters that are sort of in the realm of what I’m kind of experiencing right now. And I do find that the movie I’m on reflects the idea of the pressure of failing publicly, and so does ‘Chad.’”
10. Is a hot dog a sandwich?: “This is something I think you and I can agree upon. A psychopath would call hot dog a sandwich. It doesn’t make sense.”
Also on this episode: Variety‘s Joe Otterson and Jenny Maas drop by for a special New York-based Roundtable, we recap the TV upfronts — including the biggest trends, winners and losers.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and Michael Schneider, who also produces, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode, “Awards Circuit” features interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates about awards races and industry headlines, and much more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or anywhere you download podcasts.
