Glen Powell is stepping off the football field and into controversy. While promoting his upcoming Hulu comedy Chad Powers, the Top Gun: Maverick star seemed to have made a cheeky remark that alluded to conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.
On a recent podcast, Powell opened up about his new role as Russ Holliday, a disgraced college football phenom who disguises himself as “Chad Powers” in a desperate bid to restart his career. The actor compared Holliday’s fictional downfall to real-life cancel culture, stressing the difference between someone who simply “made a mistake” and those who, in his words, “should lie where they’re shot.”
“Russ Holliday is just a guy that made a mistake. He’s not a bad guy,” Powell said. “Some of these other people that get canceled, they should lie where they’re shot.” The quip, which listeners quickly tied to Kirk’s polarizing brand of rhetoric, instantly ignited debate online.
Powell went on to describe how he crafted Holliday’s character as someone burdened by a single misstep but not irredeemable. “I realized, this guy, his face is toxic,” he recalled, referencing the visceral reaction people have toward canceled figures. “Going out into the world, people are having a visceral reaction to this person in terms of the bad choice they’ve made.”
Despite the firestorm, Powell’s focus remains on Chad Powers, which blends college football drama with biting comedy. The Hulu series follows Holliday after an infamous blunder destroyed his shot at football glory. Nearly a decade later, he reinvents himself under a new identity, donning prosthetics to rejoin the game as Chad Powers.
The six-episode series, co-created by Powell and Michael Waldron (Loki), debuts September 30 with a two-episode premiere. Alongside Powell, the cast includes Perry Mattfeld, Quentin Plair, Wynn Everett, Frankie A. Rodriguez, and Steve Zahn. NFL legend Eli Manning executive produces, joined by Peyton Manning’s Omaha Productions.
Powell, who also co-writes and executive produces through his Barnstorm Productions banner, seems unfazed by the chatter.