Glen Powell Meets 'Real' Chad Powers in Viral Video

Last month, a-list actor Glen Powell debuted as fictional quarterback Chad Powers in the new hit new Hulu show, playing a disgraced former college football player who uses a disguise to make an unlikely comeback.

What some viewers might not know, however, is that Powell was not the first person to wear a disguise and take on the Chad Powers persona. A recent viral video shows Powell meeting the "real" Chad Powers.

Who is Chad Powers?

The new Hulu series Chad Powers centers on Russ Holliday (Glen Powell), a once-celebrated college quarterback whose life has taken a downward turn after a humiliating blunder cost his team the national championship, followed by a high-profile confrontation with a terminally ill young fan.

With his football career in shambles, Holliday comes up with a far-fetched scheme to disguise himself using movie prosthetics and makeup to join a struggling team in need of a quarterback. Taking on the alter ego of Chad Powers, Holliday signs with the fictional South Georgia Catfish and quickly rises to stardom—all while scrambling to keep his real identity under wraps.

The Original Chad Powers

While the new Hulu series may have introduced most viewers to Chad Powers, the show is actually based on a viral prank video from 2022.

In the video, which racked up 17 million views on YouTube, NFL legend Eli Manning wore stage makeup and a wig to disguise his identity as he tried out for the Penn State Nittany Lions football team as a walk-on under the name Chad Powers.

In the video, Powers can be seen impressing the coaches with his arm, poise, expertise, and pretty much everything else but his athleticism before eventually revealing it was all a prank.

Glen Powell Meets the 'Real' Chad Powers

In a recent video shared by Eli and Peyton Manning's production company, Omaha Productions, Powell's version of Chad Powers has the opportunity to meet Eli Manning's original version of the character.

Throughout the entire encounter, though, Powell never even breaks character.

"You're shorter than I thought you'd be," Powell told Manning as the former New York Giants quarterback towered over him.

"Oh, you got a different accent, huh?" Manning replied to Powell, trying to stay in character but clearly taken aback by Powell's portrayal. "You went like, southern."

"Yeah, you got a different mustache, too," Powell pointed out.

Manning could not hold back his laughter.

"Is that how you talk?" he asked, unable to stay in character.

"Yeah. You see it," Powell replied. "This is your making. You did all this."

"I did this," Manning replied with a laugh. "This is what I did. This is my creation."

Chad Powers Season 2?

The first season of the show ended on a major cliffhanger, leaving viewers eager to learn about the status of season 2. While Hulu has not yet renewed the show for a second season, the creators do have a plan.

Chad Powers co-creator and showrunner, Michael Waldron, recently opened up a little bit on the status of a follow-up season.

“We’ve certainly talked about it — talked about a plan. [Hulu] has a sense of where we’d like to take it. Ultimately, we have to see how the show performs, but everybody knows Glen and I want to see this thing through to the end,” Waldron said.

Waldron said that he would ultimately like the show to run through one full college football season, which he estimates is “at least three seasons.”

“There’s a lot more story left to tell, so I hope we get to do it. When you get to the end of the first season, it feels like we’re just getting started. Ricky is now pulled into this alliance and now we can get into our Empire Strikes Back chapter of this trilogy. I hope we get to to keep it going.”