‘Chad Powers’ star Glen Powell’s busy schedule says he isn’t feeling burned out
Glen Powell knows he seems to be everywhere right now, but he makes no apologies for it.
“I find that hard work is something that I really admire in my colleagues and other people,” says Powell Variety‘s Awards Circuit podcast. “I mean, work ethic is something, especially when you’re on a movie set and all these people are invested in something, I like that quality. At the same time, I think people are worried about me. But I’m doing well. I’m having a blast.”
Powell spoke to the Awards Circuit Podcast about his Hulu series “Chad Powers,” which received high critical acclaim for its story about a washed-up former college football star who figures out a way to regain his glory on the field at a new school through heavy disguise. Given his successful theater career, it might be surprising that Powell had the time to star in and executive produce a TV show, but “Chad Powers” tapped into his passions.
“I’m going to create a show with one of my best friends and live in a world that I really love,” he says. “The world of college football is something that everyone who knows me knows. I’m a huge fan. I get to work with a very good roster of some of the most talented actors in Hollywood, and I’m having a great time. So I’m not burned out. I get 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 anything. There’s going to be a stretch where I’m going to take a break.” But it’s not a break because I’m burned out. I don’t go to work for the sake of working, but I work because of all the things that I love, that I really care about.’
In this episode of the Awards Circuit Podcast, Powell talks about ‘Chad Powers’, his busy career and what’s next – while also reflecting on his first time in Variety and take the 10-question quiz. Listen below!
“Chad Powers,” of course, started as a joke on Eli Manning’s ESPN series “Eli’s Places.” In reimagining the character for a TV series, Powell and co-creator Michael Waldron came up with a bit of a “Mrs. Doubtfire’-meets-‘Breaking Bad’ twist, within the sports film genre.
“The way those storylines can intersect becomes inherently interesting,” he says. “For me as an actor, there was something exciting about taking a really big swing with a lot of things that were my favorite kind of inspiration points.”
Powell and Waldron charted “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 end up in front of the public. Sometimes it just doesn’t say, ‘Hey, we’re going to 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 talk about how “Chad Powers” might end. But at the very least, because there’s a big lie at the heart of the premise (as his character, Russ Holliday, sees his stunt as a rookie quarterback in prosthetics spiral out of control), Powell says the tension will build even further. He says he enjoyed the challenge of mapping the idea: “How do you turn the switch on an audience where it becomes more and more intense, dramatic and humorous over time, and how something silly can become something very rich, emotional and nuanced.”
Part of that comes from the creation of the character of “Chad Powers,” including the prosthetics and voice work.
Expect the tension to rise in season 2, Powell adds, as more people discover Russ Holliday’s deception. “In the second season we wanted to flip the switch and show that this lie is actually ruining people’s lives,” he says. “It will be more ‘Uncut Gems.’ It’s going to be a much wilder, twisted, dark thing mixed with all that fun comedy. This was always the intention. Waldron and I were like, OK, how do we take this silly, fun story down the most twisted path for the audience?
“This whole story is really a contemplation about identity and how you label yourself, and how you allow other people to label you,” Powell adds. “Over the course of his journey, he has labeled himself as a guy who is a bit of a loser. He believes he is cursed. He more or less takes no responsibility. What happens in his attempt to prove that theory wrong is that he ultimately doubles down on his worst instincts and becomes something of a curse on a team that has no idea they have doubled down on the biggest lie in sports history.”
Variety Awards Circuit Podcast looks back on the very first time guests entered Variety And Daily variationand for Powell, it was July 20, 2012, when he landed the lead role in the film “Red Wing” and had just completed the feature film “Writers” (eventually titled “Stuck In Love”), opposite Greg Kinnear and Lily Collins.
“I remember auditioning for that movie several times,” Powell said of “Red Wing.” “It’s very interesting to think about, being hired for anything. Even the movie ‘Writers,’ the final title of which was ‘Stuck in Love.’ I worked with Lily Collins, who is 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 doing it now: Pokemon cards. “I recently got to do the Super Mario movie because I loved video games as a kid. I got to play Star Fox. I was obsessed with Star Fox, and in this movie I now get to be Star Fox. So it’s funny how these little things end up coming back to you in the entertainment world.”
3. Go-to karaoke or sing-along song in the shower: “I’m actually making a movie with Judd Apatow that’s set in the world of country music. So I’ve basically dusted 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)
5. What is your secret talent?: “I can shotgun a beer very quickly.”
6. Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate cookie dough.
7. The one item you couldn’t live without: “If you could name my dog Brisket an item, I would probably say Brisket.”
8. What TV show from throughout history do you wish you were a cast member of?: “When I first moved to LA, I really wanted to be in sitcoms. I just loved the cast mentality, the live audience stuff. I went to see some of the tapings when I first moved here. ‘Friends’ is obviously one of the best ones that 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 to LA. If I could be in a sitcom, that would be the ultimate. And I’ve never done it!”
9. Fictional character you admire most: “When I’m in a movie, I tend to binge characters that are more or less in the realm of what I’m experiencing at the moment. And I find that the movie I’m in reflects the idea of the pressure to fail publicly, and that includes ‘Chad.'”
10. Is a hot dog a sandwich?: “This is something you and I can agree on. A psychopath would call a hot dog a sandwich. It doesn’t make sense.”
Also in this episode: Variety‘s Joe Otterson and Jenny Maas join us for a special roundtable in New York, where we recap the TV outlook – including the biggest trends, winners and losers.
Variety’s “Awards Circuit” podcast, hosted by Clayton Davis, Jazz Tangcay, Emily Longeretta and also producing Michael Schneider, is your one-stop source for lively conversations about the best in film and television. Each episode features “Awards Circuit” interviews with top film and TV talent and creatives, discussions and debates on awards races and industry news, and more. Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get podcasts.
