Former Wichita news anchor lands small role in ‘Reagan,’ which hits local theaters today

A former Wichita television anchor and current Wichita resident will appear on the big screen this weekend, if only for a few seconds.

Anthony Powell , who worked as a reporter and anchor on KSN, Channel 3, from 2004 to 2010, has a small part in the movie “Reagan,” a biopic about the 40th President of the United States Ronald Reagan. The film, which stars Dennis Quaid in the title role, begins playing in local theaters today.

Powell, who for the last several years has been pursuing a career in acting and voice over work, was cast in a role that wasn’t much of a stretch for him. He plays a news anchor delivering a report on Reagan during a particularly turbulent time in the former president’s career.

On Wednesday, Powell was invited to attend a red carpet premiere of the film in the Oklahoma City suburb of Edmond: Much of the movie was filmed in nearby Guthrie.

Quaid also attended the premiere, but that wasn’t the only reason Powell was nervous when he stepped on to the red carpet. He filmed his part four years ago and had no idea if he would even appear in the final edit.

But on Thursday morning, he happily reported that his part did make it in the film. He shows up roughly 90 minutes into the movie and is on screen for roughly 12 seconds. As the 1980s new anchor, Powell said, his final line is, “And President Reagan may very well end up being a one-term president.”

“When I did my part, the dialogue was about 30 seconds,” Powell said. “They definitely cut it down. But you can clearly see and hear me.”

Powell said he regularly auditions for parts filmed in nearby locations. He even auditioned for three different roles in the recent hit film “Twisters” — which also was filmed in Oklahoma. But he didn’t get any of them.

His audition for the “Reagan” film happened in March of 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was ramping up. Originally, Powell auditioned for a part as a member of Reagan’s cabinet, but all of those roles went to actors from Los Angeles, he said.

The casting agents, though, knew that Powell had once been a television anchor and asked him to ad-lib a few lines as though he were delivering the news on camera. It wasn’t until August of 2020 that he heard he’d landed the part of “1984 News Anchor.”

In October of 2020, he traveled to Guthrie to film his part.

“COVID was just raging at that time,” he remembered. “We all were tested three times a day.”

The shoot went well, Powell said, and he headed back to Wichita. Then he waited. And waited. And waited.

Years passed, and he started to wonder if the “Reagan” movie would ever be released. He kind of forgot about it, then recently, he was invited to attend the Oklahoma premiere.

“But I still didn’t know if I’d made the film,” he said.

When he arrived and hit the red carpet, Powell saw the film’s director, Sean McNamara, who also directed “Soul Surfer” in 2011, “The Miracle Season” in 2018 and “The King’s Daughter” in 2022.

McNamara told Powell that the film was delayed not only by the pandemic but by the SAG-AFTRA strike that lasted from July to November of last year.

He also told Powell that he looked great on screen. After that, Powell was able to relax a bit, knowing he’d made the cut. But he was still nervous, he said.

Powell, 60, grew up in California, and his father, Richard M. Powell, was a writer for sitcoms like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Hogan’s Heroes” and “Happy Days.” Powell grew up hanging out with actors like Charlie Sheen.

He earned a degree in broadcast journalism from California State University, Northridge, but he also never gave up on his dream of becoming an actor. In his younger years, he had small roles on television shows like “General Hospital” and “Matlock.” But he made his career delivering the news on television and had jobs in Santa Fe, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City, and Kansas City before joining KSN 20 years ago.

After he decided to leave KSN, Powell dabbled in restaurants. In 2012, he became a franchisee for the burger chain Mooyah and opened a Wichita location at 352 S. West St., where Chick N Max now operates. The restaurant closed three years later, and Powell decided to turn his attention back to acting.

“I decided, ‘I’m in the Screen Actors Guild. I’m going to give the acting thing another shot,’” he said.

Since then, Powell has been booking lots of voice over work, and he auditions for any television or movie job he can. A few years ago, he starred with several other former Wichita news anchors in a locally-made sitcom called “Wichita Madhouse.”

The role in “Reagan,” though brief, marks Powell’s biggest acting credit to date. And even though his role was tiny, it was still gratifying, he said.

“I don’t think people realize the incredible amount of rejection there is in this business,” he said. “I have done hundreds of auditions for movies, and it’s so difficult to land roles. Even a small role, you’re grateful for.”

Powell said that he enjoyed the film and thought that Quaid was excellent as Reagan.

“It was really well done,” he said. “It’s not a political movie. It’s a look at his life, all the way from when he was growing up to when he was president of SAG and his metamorphosis into politics. I think people who are into history will really be into it.”

“Reagan,” rated PG-13, is now showing at AMC Northrock 14, Regal Warren West and Regal Warren East.

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