Before Glen Powell was a Bonafide movie star, he’s crediting NCIS for keeping his career afloat. The Twisters star has been in the industry since he was younger, and it wasn’t always easy. He’d take on small roles here and there. While speaking with Vanity FairPowell recalled being a struggling actor before hitting it big, revealing that his two-episode stint of NCIS paid the bills for a year.
“That’s the other interesting thing about this business right now—how much it’s changing,” he said. “The business no longer supports struggling actors the way it did when I was kind of coming up. I would do an episode of NCIS, and that would keep me afloat for a year. You know what I mean?”
Videos by PopCulture.com
Powell appeared on two episodes of the long-running CBS procedural during Season 10 in 2012 as Marine Sergeant Evan Westcott for the two-parter “Shell Shock.” While the actor did still appear in small roles after that for a bit, being on a show as big as NCIS can definitely help. Powell did not disclose how much he made from the two episodes, but considering he was able to keep going for a year, that’s definitely saying a lot. Fans can watch the episode now on Paramount+.
It still took another few years until Glen Powell really started making it big. By 2015, he was starring on Fox’s Scream Queens and also appearing in movies such as The Bad Guys, Hidden Figures, Set It Up, and more. After starring in Top Gun: Maverick in 2022, the rest is history. Since NCIS and the overall franchise is still going, it would be fun for Powell to pop by the series again, even if he doesn’t necessarily need the movie anymore.
At the very least, Powell will be returning to the TV world in the near future. He’s set to star in the upcoming Hulu comedy Chad Powers. It will be his first main role on a live-action TV series since Scream Queenswhich ran for two seasons from 2015 to 2016 before being canceled by Fox. It seems like Powell is constantly working these days now. On top of Chad Powersdystopian thriller The Running Man will be releasing in 2025. Black comedy thriller Huntington will be releasing in the near future as well, and there’s no telling what else Powell is working on.
