The NCIS Character Glen Powell Played Before His Rise To Fame
At this point, Glen Powell feels like he's been famous forever thanks to a series of high-profile projects (that also happened to be major financial successes), but this native Texan only broke into the mainstream towards the end of the 2010s. So what was he doing before that? As a young actor trying to make it big in Hollywood, Powell showed up in "Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over" alongside Selena Gomez, in a tiny, blink-and-you'll-miss-it role in "The Dark Knight Rises" — which consists entirely of Tom Hardy's supervillain Bane slamming a young Powell's head into a computer keyboard — and, as it turns out, he also appeared on "NCIS."
In the procedural's 10th season, Powell plays Marine Corps Sergeant Evan Westcott in the two-part episode "Shell Shock," whose older brother, Captain Joe Westcott (Brad Beyer), watched as his friend was attacked (and may or may not have been personally involved himself). Powell actually talked about his turn on the series as recently as late 2024, while promoting his film "Twisters" in a profile for Vanity Fair. As Powell told Anthony Breznican, he's watched the entertainment industry change a lot since his "NCIS" role in 2012, and not, as he put it, for the better. "The business no longer supports struggling actors the way it did when I was kind of coming up," Powell shared. "I would do an episode of 'NCIS,' and that would keep me afloat for a year. You know what I mean?"
"You're not living a lavish lifestyle," Powell continued. "You're hiding a flask in your boot if you go out for a drink. You're not necessarily able to afford anything significant in that town, but you are able to stay there. Those little jobs, like getting a commercial, keep life in the system." Clearly, "NCIS" helped Powell in two ways: it helped expand his profile as a performer and helped support him financially during his early days as an actor. So what project eventually changed everything for Powell?
What movies really put Glen Powell on the map after his small roles on NCIS and in The Dark Knight Rises?
I understand that, for some people, Richard Linklater's 2016 comedy "Everybody Wants Some!!!" was their first introduction to a young Glen Powell. Others might have caught him in a small part in "Hidden Figures" that same year, and real Ryan Murphy fans know he played Chad Radwell in the short-lived series "Scream Queens." With that said, I would argue that the project that really put Powell on the map was "Set It Up," an original Netflix romantic comedy ... not just because it was pretty widely watched on the streamer, but because it proved that Powell could play a romantic lead without breaking a sweat. Alongside Zoey Deutch as Harper Moore, Powell plays Charlie Young, and Harper and Charlie both happen to be overworked assistants; Harper works for sports journalist Kirsten Stevens (Lucy Liu), and Charlie works for a venture capitalist named Rick Otis (Taye Diggs). When Harper and Charlie meet, they realize they could potentially team up and get their high-strung bosses to date — because if Rick and Kirsten start dating, maybe they'll take it easier on their assistants. Charlie and Harper have the right idea, but obviously, they start falling for each other too.
"Everybody Wants Some!!!" ended up giving Powell a star vehicle alongside Linklater a few years later — more on that in just a second — and "Hidden Figures" was an Oscar nominee for best picture, but still, "Set It Up" was basically a perfect introduction to Powell. Not only did it prove just how charming the guy is, but it also proved he can handily lead a movie ... and now, with only a few exceptions, it feels rare for Powell to play second fiddle on the big screen.
These days, Glen Powell is a major movie star — and a box office draw
Sure, Glen Powell isn't the lead in 2022's "Top Gun: Maverick," but that's because Tom Cruise is the lead (and Miles Teller scored the role of Rooster, Maverick's protegé; Powell plays another young pilot, Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin), but this was Powell's first big project after "Set It Up," and it's safe to say that his career soared after cruising the skies in the legacyquel. (Sorry.)
In late 2023, Powell struck box office gold alongside Sydney Sweeney in "Anyone But You," a romantic comedy adapted from William Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" that was charming, even though it may not have been the most original entry into the genre. Technically, that same year, Powell had another huge movie ready to wow audiences. Powell's second collaboration with Richard Linklater, "Hit Man" — which the actor co-wrote with the Oscar-nominated writer and director — premiered in September 2023 at the Venice Film Festival, and after a bunch of studios (foolishly) passed on the project, and when "Hit Man" finally premiered on Netflix in 2024, it was, well, a hit! As Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered psychology and philosophy professor whose side hustle with the New Orleans police department's sting operations takes on a new life when he starts running said sting operations, Powell really shines. We can't talk about Powell's 2024, though, without mentioning "Twisters," the long-awaited sequel to "Twister" that casts Powell as an adrenaline-hungry storm chaser. (He's great in that, too.)
Powell is, without question, a massive Hollywood star ... and apparently, a turn on "NCIS" helped make that happen. You can find Powell's episode of "NCIS" on Paramount+.