Glen Powell Reveals Failed Friday Night Lights Auditions
Glen Powell has starred in numerous films and TV shows over the years, and he just revealed that he failed to land a role on an iconic drama series despite auditioning multiple times. On the big screen, fans have seen Powell in such movies as The Expendables 3, Ride Along 2 and Hidden Figures.
On the small screen, he guest-starred on many shows like CSI: Miami and NCIS, and was a voice actor on Jurassic World Camp Cretaceous, but he’s best known for starring on Ryan Murphy’s Scream Queens. He can next be seen on the Hulu comedy Chad Powers, where he plays a former college football player.
Glen Powell Reflects On Ego Hit After Failed Friday Night Lights Auditions
Ben Richards (Glen Powell) wearing the game show outfit in The Running Man (2025)
Speaking of football, during an interview with GQ, Powell answered fans’ questions, including one about any bad audition stories or roles he missed out on landing, and the actor mentioned a classic modern drama centered around that very sport.
Powell admitted that the failed audition that stung the most was Friday Night Lights, which is one of his favorite TV shows. He auditioned four times but was never cast on the football drama.
Aside from how much he loved the show, Powell added that one of the reasons he was really disappointed by these rejections was that he grew up in Austin, Texas, and played football there.
Friday Night Lights was filmed in Austin and Pflugerville, so he was very aware of filming taking place in his hometown. Despite the proximity to the show’s sets, Powell still wasn’t able to land a role. He admitted that it was definitely an “ego hit” to experience those four failed auditions.
When it comes to auditions in general, Powell claimed that he’s had “more bad auditions” than any other actor in the entertainment industry, and joked that casting directors could probably be bribed into ruining his career.
“I have had more bad auditions than maybe anyone in Hollywood, ever. You could probably bribe some casting directors to ruin my career. I’ll tell you one that was really hard for me was when I was growing up in Austin, Texas. Friday Night Lights was one of my favorite shows. 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. It was a bit of an ego hit, but I’m still a fan of the show.”
What Glen Powell’s Failed Friday Night Lights Auditions Mean
Ben Richards (Glen Powell) with his hand on his chest, as if making a promise in The Running Man (2025)
Image via Paramount Pictures
It would be very interesting to learn about the specific Friday Night Lights roles that Powell failed to land, whether they were major parts or just guest star appearances. Either way, considering Friday Night Lights is one of his favorite TV shows, it must have been a devastating blow to not be cast.
After all, Friday Night Lights, based on the Billy Bob Thornton film and non-fiction book of the same name, is a modern TV classic and has a 97% score on Rotten Tomatoes. It ran for five seasons on NBC and DirecTV’s The 101 Network.
Audiences fell in love with the characters and cast members, including leads Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton, with the former winning an Emmy.
Peacock is developing a Friday Night Lights reboot, which was announced in late 2024, so the producers should reach out to Powell about joining the show in some capacity, which would make his dreams come true.
Patrick R. Norris, Jonas Pate, Allison Liddi-Brown, Adam Davidson, Dean White, Peter Berg, Seith Mann, Jason Katims, Chris Eyre, Ami Canaan Mann, Charles Stone III, Dan Lerner, Josh Pate, Kyle Chandler, Mark Piznarski
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