Glen Powell is no stranger to wearing a good disguise. He donned a number of them in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, and now, he’s putting on one more in Chad Powers, a Hulu series that was first ordered in February of this year. The show, which Powell is also co-creating with Loki showrunner Michael Waldron.
The series is based on an Eli Manning sketch in which he played the same character. He played the character for his EPSN+ docuseries Eli’s Places and went undercover as a walk-on prospect for Penn State. Powell seems to have adapted that premise somewhat to his own ends.
“When bad behavior nukes hotshot QB Russ Holliday’s (Powell) college career, he disguises himself and walks onto a struggling Southern football team as the talented, affable Chad Powers,” the official description reads.
Powell will take on the central role alongside Perry Mattfeld, Steve Zahn, Toby Huss, Wynn Everett, Frankie A. Rodriguez, and Quentin Plair.
Chad Powers is an attempt by Powell to continue a remarkable hot streak that has included two bona fide box office hits in Anyone But You and Twisters, and a critical success in Hit Man. Powell has worked in Hollywood for a number of years but has only emerged as a major star more recently, achieving stardom later than your average A-lister.
The first look suggests that Powell will be replicating key parts of Manning’s original look, including the long hair. It’s unclear whether Powell has the same kind of deep ball as the former Giants quarterback, but he may be able to fake it pretty well.
