Glen Powell Was A Budding Reality TV Star Before Top Gun: Maverick

Glen Powell is unquestionably one of Hollywood's hottest new stars. After over a decade of strong supporting performances in critically-acclaimed films like "Hidden Figures" and the cult TV show "Scream Queens," Powell's career shot into the stratosphere in 2022 with his scene-stealing turn as the cocksure pilot Lieutenant Jake "Hangman" Seresin in the smash hit "Top Gun: Maverick." Now an in-demand leading man, Powell is also a Golden Globe nominee for his role as a professor posing as a contract killer in "Hit Man," a film the star co-wrote with director Richard Linklater.

But all award-nominated, multi-talented movie stars have to start somewhere, and the Hangman-turned-Hit Man began his onscreen career in a surprising place: reality television. In 2003, Powell was a contestant on "Endurance," a competition reality show in the mold of "Survivor" but with one key difference – all the players were teenagers. Largely forgotten today, "Endurance" ran for six seasons on Discovery Kids and was nominated for multiple Daytime Emmy Awards.

"Endurance" gathered a diverse group of 20 teenagers at a remote location. Once there, they had to, well, endure physical tests of skill, such as riding uncooperative burros in the desert or shooting balls at teammates with a catapult. Only 14 years old at the time, Powell appeared in the second season of "Endurance," filmed in Baja California. 

Powell isn't the first celebrity to begin their career in the world of reality television, but for a very long time, he never spoke publicly about "Endurance."

"Endurance" remained a blip in Glen Powell's burgeoning career until he was asked about it in a 2024 episode of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." Surprised by Colbert holding up a screenshot of the young –- but still recognizable –- future star, Powell confessed that he never talked about his time on a reality show for a big reason: He was eliminated in the first episode.

In the "Endurance" Season 2 premiere, Powell fails the "Drop Out" challenge. In this test of concentration and physical strength, the teenagers stand on a platform and hold onto a bar above their heads. If they are unable to balance while holding the bar, the platform drops out from beneath them, and they fall into the water below. Powell is the second contestant to fall, admitting in a talking head that "I felt like I could do it for a long time, but my balance didn't think so."

"The really sad part is that I wanted to be on the show really bad," Powell told Colbert while looking back on his time on the show. Luckily for audiences, "Endurance" was not the last time Glen Powell would make a big splash onscreen. The "Top Gun: Maverick" actor is set to star in the 2025 remake of "The Running Man," playing, ironically enough, a very determined reality show contestant. But this time, no one can doubt his ability to make it to the end.