To promote the November release of his latest movie, \u201cThe Running Man,\u201d Powell sat down with The Dallas Morning News in the Cotton Bowl shortly before kickoff. He offered a friendly smile and handshake, removed his white Stetson and cheerfully sat down to discuss two of his two favorite topics.<\/p>\n
The Longhorns and acting. <\/p>\n
Sports Roundup<\/p>\n
By signing up, you agree to our\u00a0Terms of Service<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n Here is the conversation, lightly edited for clarity.<\/p>\n Q:<\/b> I know you were born and grew up in Austin and that both sets of your grandparents, and your parents went to UT, as did you, but can you recall when you first attended a Longhorn football game?<\/p>\n Powell:<\/b> I\u2019m trying to think. I remember I was part of the University of Texas String Project when I was a kid. I played violin. I was probably seven years old. And if I played violin, and I went to every practice, I got to go to a UT game. So I remember my parents letting me go to, I think it was a UT-Rice game.<\/p>\n I was really, really young. But the thing about it is, I\u2019ve always been attracted to really passionate people. And there\u2019s nobody more passionate than the Longhorn fan base, you know? And I think the energy around Austin, we didn\u2019t grow up in a town where there\u2019s a professional football team. It\u2019s all college sports, all about the University of Texas, right?<\/p>\n Everything in my house \u2014 and I mean everything \u2014 was burnt orange. It was just the color of every season.<\/p>\n Q: <\/b>What is your favorite part about being a celebrity Texas fan, as opposed to being a regular-Joe Longhorn fan. Going to games as a celebrity and being on the sideline?<\/p>\n Powell: <\/b>That\u2019s a new frontier for me. I gotta say, it\u2019s one that comes with a lot of fun perks, but also a lot responsibility. Like, I remember when I did College Game Day for the first time, I called [Matthew] McConaughey, and said, \u2018Hey, like, what does this look like? What do I need to know about this?\u2019<\/p>\n And he just said, \u2018You represent the university now, how you carry yourself, how you present yourself, you represent the university.\u2019 So he said \u2018Take that as an important responsibility.\u2019 And I really appreciated that, because at the end of the day, McConaughey has done such an amazing job for this place. And we\u2019re two very different flavors, but anything I can do to help out, I will.<\/p>\n The University of Texas has given so much to me and so much joy to my family and to me that I always want to reward the place that has such a special place in my heart. But, yeah, it\u2019s been really fun, I gotta say. For a guy that\u2019s grown up on Texas football and has dreamed of being, you know, the guy that\u2019s outside the stadium and just trying to figure out a way to get in, to be able to be on the sidelines and things like that, it\u2019s a dream come true.<\/p>\n Related<\/p>\n Q: <\/b>About \u201cThe Running Man\u201d: Understand, I\u2019m a sports writer so I\u2019m asking this from a sportswriter perspective, but after seeing the trailer, it looks like an action-packed film that appears to have you doing a lot of your own stunts.<\/p>\n Powell:<\/b> Yes, Running Man is very stunt-heavy. That was the first thing that when I read the script, I was like, \u2018OK, I get my ass kicked. This entire movie is going to be really tough.\u2019 And talking to other friends of mine who had starred in big action movies, they\u2019re like, \u2018Just prepare. It\u2019s like if you were getting hit, you\u2019re falling off of something and it hurts. And you\u2019re doing it 12 to 13 times.\u2019 You know what I mean? They\u2019re like, just prepare for war as best you can. Take care of yourself.\u2019<\/p>\n I feel like I\u2019m a pretty tough individual. I was like, \u2018Man, by the time I got to the end of \u2018Running Man,\u2019 I was beaten up and [exhausted].<\/p>\n Q: <\/b>Watching the trailer, it looked like it was nonstop.<\/p>\n Powell: <\/b>But the fun part about it is, for me, I\u2019m such a fan of action movies. I\u2019m such a fan of [\u201cRunning Man\u201d director] Edgar Wright. This movie delivers on every level in terms of being like one of those. <\/p>\n It\u2019s like an action movie, but it\u2019s got a lot of heart. It\u2019s just relentless and shot by like a prestige filmmaker. It\u2019s based on a Stephen King book. It\u2019s got all the ingredients to be something really great. And I\u2019ve now seen it five or six times. I\u2019ve been in the editing room for the past few months, and it is so good. We just played it for all the theater owners the other night. They just lost their minds.<\/p>\n Q:<\/b> Your career has really taken off, but my guess is most people know you most of all from \u201cTop Gun: Maverick\u201d<\/p>\n Powell:<\/b> It reminded me about way the theater owners felt about Maverick. Like when they walked out, they were like, \u2018Oh, we have a winner.\u2019 It felt pretty good.<\/p>\n![\"Texas](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SJUAGUC2FJGXLFXEZXVUQOPCBE.jpg\")
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