Glen Powell has become a burgeoning Hollywood star after hits like Top Gun: Maverick,Anyone But You, and Twisters. But it turns out we could have seen a lot more of him and a lot sooner had he aced the multiple auditions for a one-hit show that was filming in his hometown.
Powell was recently featured on the cover of GQ. While filming a segment called “Actually Me,” where he answered fan questions from the internet, he came across a comment that asked, “I wonder if he’d spill any bad audition stories?” It turns out the answer is yes, despite it being “a bit of an ego hit.”
“I have had more bad auditions than maybe anyone in Hollywood ever,” Powell quipped. “I’ll tell you one that was really hard for me. When I was growing up in Austin, Texas, Friday Night Lights was one of my favorite shows.”
He continued, “I auditioned for Friday Night Lights probably four times. I was a Texas football player. I was in high school in Austin. They were shooting in my hometown at the time, and I still couldn’t get on that show.”
Despite the casting snub, Powell shared that he’s “still a fan of the show.”
Friday Night Lights ran for five seasons on NBC, from 2006 to 2011. The popular series starred Taylor Kitsch, Kyle Chandler, and Connie Britton.
The very next question asked, “How quickly did Glen break his diet after wrapping filming on [Top Gun: Maverick]?”
He let out a giggle before admitting, “I broke it immediately. We shot in San Diego, California, and there is a place in San Diego that specifies in tater tots and beer and we went straight to that place right afterwards.”
The worst part is that after Powell broke his diet with a carb and beer overload, he found out the scene had to be completely reshot after it was learned that cameras were all trained on co-star Tom Cruise and not on him. So, a week “after going absolutely mental on tater tots and beer,” he had to go shirtless for the camera again.
Powell’s answers, which were typed right in as replies to fan comments, prove exactly why he is becoming such a beloved actor. He even touched on his relocation back to his hometown of Austin, Texas, last year and told fans, “If you’re looking for me, find me in Austin.”
Related: Glen Powell Undergoes Dramatic Hair and Style Transformation for Upcoming Role
This story was originally reported by Parade on Sep 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the News section. Add Parade as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
