By George Piper/The Lebanon Reporter

— Drew Powell hasn’t seen the finished cut of the movie “The Marine.” But unless the director determines otherwise, the Lebanon native believes he gets to throw the film’s first punch
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John Cena of World Wrestling Federation fame will land more punches as the star of this Twentieth Century Fox action film, which opens nationwide today. But for Powell, a 1994 Lebanon High School graduate, the small role as Cena’s friend near the film’s beginning marks the actor’s debut on cinema screens across the country.

“To actually go to a movie theater and pay my 10 bucks and see myself ... it’s really a big deal,” he said in a phone interview on Wednesday.

Powell’s acting career first drew wide notice in 2001-02, when he played a young “Hoss” Cartwright on the PAX Network series “Ponderosa,” which was a prequel for the popular “Bonanza” Western that ran from 1959 to 1973.

“The Marine” is one of three movies slated to showcase Powell’s big screen work with two others – “Mexican Sunrise” and “1408” – slated for future openings.

Hometown beginnings

Born Jan. 19, 1976, in Noblesville, Powell, the son of Jim and Peggy Powell, grew up in Lebanon, attending Central Elementary and Lebanon Middle School before graduating LHS in 1994 and later going to DePauw University in Greencastle.

The old Avon Theatre on Lebanon Street helped plant the seed in young Powell’s mind that acting might be in his future.
“I distinctly remember going to the Avon in Lebanon and (thinking), ‘Wow, wouldn’t that be amazing to do?’” he said. “I never knew if I thought was possible for a kid from Lebanon.”

Active in LHS stage productions, Powell’s acting embers received further stoking from the late Carol Belles, who cast the junior in the lead role of Tevye in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

“She really and truly was such a champion of mine,” he said of Belles, whom he called a “guiding light and a special lady.”
While some might regard a high school musical as insignificant, the production pushed Powell toward taking his amateur work more seriously. He recalled going with Belles to Bloomington to see “Fiddler,” and he repeatedly watched the film version. Powell also studied the history of pre-Revolution Russia to have a better understanding of his character’s background.

“I really got into what it means to be an actor,” he said. “I really felt like this was something I could do and be really good at.”

At DePauw University, he studied broadcast journalism and earned internships at C-SPAN and WISH-TV. But being in front of the camera just fed his desire for acting.

The biggest boost, he said, came from his parents, who backed his decision to try the uncertain and financially unreliable world of acting. They also provided a lot of love and a strong foundation. Powell said most people who are drawn to Hollywood are running away from something back home. That wasn’t the case with him.

“They deserve as much credit as anyone,” he said.

first successes

Powell’s first roles in television involved small parts. In 2000 and 2001, he played “Cadet Drew” in 11 episodes of the Fox series “Malcolm in the Middle,” with bit parts in the series “Popular” and “V.I.P.”
Then came “Ponderosa.”

A big guy at 6 feet, 3 inches tall, Powell seemed perfect for the role of a young “Hoss” Cartwright in the series depicting “Bonanza” characters in their younger days. Though the series only lasted one season on the now-defunct PAX network, the show brought personal and professional success for Powell.

On location in Australia, Powell met his future wife, Veronica, whom he married in 2003. “The fact that I met my wife will forever change me,” he said.

Professionally, Powell called the show “the best graduate program ever.” With most of his previous experience on stage, Powell honed the more technical aspects of television acting, such as knowing how the shot will be framed, how to hit marks and reading off-camera lines. He gave credit to Daniel Hugh Kelly, in the role of patriarch Ben Cartwright, who helped the young actor perfect his craft.

Plus it was a lot of fun.

“Who doesn’t want to be a cowboy and ride horses and shoot guns all day?” he said.

Although off the air, “Ponderosa” still lingers with Powell. He is invited to the 90th birthday celebration of one of the men involved with the original “Bonanza.” Also, he attended a “Bonanza” convention two years ago in Lake Tahoe, Calif., where he met fans of both the old show as well as his.

“I’ve been amazed at loyalty and energy of “Ponderosa” fans,” he said. “This show has been off the air for a long time, but they’re truly amazing and thoughtful people.”

After “Ponderosa,” Powell had his first movie experience in “Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation,” which was released directly to video. He also had parts in “CSI,” “Over There” and most recently on the USA Network Show “Monk,” where, for once, he got to play the bad guy who has killed someone. He blinds Monk during the episode.

“It was such a blast to be a jerk,” he said. “It was a thrill to be a bad guy and chase Monk around.”

To the big screen

Powell’s road to being cast in “The Marine” involved being in the right place at the right time.

Shooting in 2004 in Australia, producers were having trouble finding an American to play Joe, Cena’s friend in the movie. Powell, who travels back and forth between California and Australia with his wife, had just arrived from another job when a casting agent called to have him audition.

“The Marine” is a story about John Triton (Cena), who is honorably discharged from the Marines following an incident where he saves lives, but disobeys orders. Back in the States, he hooks up with his friend Joe (Powell) who finds a security job for him in an office building.

A couple of “toughs” enter the building, causing some trouble with an ex-girlfriend. Cena’s and Powell’s characters respond to the dispute. Some words are exchanged and Powell throws a punch at one of the bad guys. The scene ends with Cena dispatching one of the bad guys through a plate-glass window.

The movie continues with Cena’s wife getting kidnapped, forcing Cena, the Marine, to use his battle-tested skills to get her back.

Powell compared “The Marine” to an ‘80s-style Arnold Schwarzenegger or Sylvester Stallone action movie. The movie’s budget was relatively low at $20 million, but Powell doesn’t believe it takes away from the quality. “I think it’s going to surprise a lot of people,” he said.

Besides Cena, a muscular hulk, the film also includes Robert Patrick, who played Schwarzenegger’s nemesis in “Terminator II” and, more recently, portrayed Ray Cash in “Walk the Line.” In “The Marine,” Patrick plays Rome and is the film’s bad guy.

Powell, who worked less than two weeks during the filming, recalled one hitch - which happened off camera. After a day’s shooting, Powell and Cena - whose physiques resemble a pair of football players - and an elevator full of production people were descending from an upper floor of a high rise office building when the elevator became stuck around the 28th floor.
Emergency workers rescued the group after two hours, lowering the elevator by using a hand crank. Those in the elevator had to climb through the car’s ceiling and then step up to the floor level.

“You could here the wind in the shaft and feel (the building) sway back and forth,” he said of the experience, during which everyone stayed remarkably calm.

Filming for television and movies, the main difference is time. A one-hour episode of “Ponderosa” involved five to six days of shooting. In movies, you might have three months to fill 90 minutes.

“You have a lot more time to do work in front the camera and more time with the scenes (in movies),” he said.

Two other upcoming films also will feature Powell

“Mexican Sunrise” is the dark story of five people on a bachelor party trip to Mexico. Powell plays Tindol, who recently returned home from the military. The character is a classic good ‘ole boy who likes to get in fights and just be a big, belligerent fun-lovin’ guy.

“(The character) is pretty much drunk from the beginning of the movie,” he said, adding that he is in many of the film’s lighter moments.

The film has a gritty feel to it, said Powell, comparing it to the movie “Traffic.” The independent film does not have a distributor yet, but Powell said he’s heard there’s a deal in the works and it may be in theaters soon.

“1408” is based on a Stephen King short story and stars John Cusack as a writer who debunks paranormal myths. He goes to a hotel and wants to stay in Room 1408, which is infamous for the bad things that happen to its guests. Samuel L. Jackson plays the hotel manager, with Powell cast as the assistant manager. Much of the movie centers on Cusack in the room, so the number of roles in the movie is limited. He spent five days shooting his role for the movie, which is due out in 2007.

But the project Powell is anticipating most has yet to happen.

He and “Ponderosa” co-star Matt Carmody are shopping a screenplay they have co-written. Powell said there’s “positive energy” with the project, in which both would have major roles. “It’s fun to be in charge from the beginning,” he said.

After all, it worked for Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, who came out of nowhere when they co-wrote and starred in “Good Will Hunting.”

“Don’t think we haven’t thought about that,” he said.

an actor’s life

Powell enjoys character actors the most and sees himself as that kind of performer. He appreciates someone like a Ben Kingsley, whose limitless talent allows him to play a peace-loving man (“Ghandi”) or a brutal gangster (“Sexy Beast”). He rattled off a list of other actors - Philip Seymour Hoffman, John C. Reilly, Daniel Day-Lewis - who bring an excitement and sense of reality to their roles.

“They add so much to a film with their presence,” he said. “If it looks like acting, then they’re not doing their job.”

The question most asked of Powell by family and friends outside the business is “What do you do all day?”

To have success in Hollywood means constant auditions. Powell attended one on Thursday for a new show that Fox is shooting and has another upcoming audition for a Showtime pilot.

“The truth is there’s a lot of hustle and driving around and reading scripts,” he said, adding that actors must be a good salesman for themselves.

They also must deal with rejection. The key, he said, is to look at rejection not as a deterrent, but as motivation for that next audition.

Powell said he could fill an entire newspaper with a list of jobs that he’s been close to getting. But after eight years in the business, Powell feels he knows what he has to do to survive.

It takes some measure of insanity, he admits, to uproot yourself and go to a place where you don’t know a soul and try to make a go of it. Hollywood is a tough business, and it’s not for everyone.

“If there’s anything else you can do, do that instead,” he said his advice is to people getting into acting. “But if you’re crazy enough and you have the acting bug, then do it.”

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