Born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Powell later moved to California before graduating from St. Mark's High School in Wilmington, Delaware.
[5] His producing credits include New York productions of The Mouse That Roared, Enter Pissarro, Indra & Agni Collide and a workshop of Kidding Jane with Ellen McLaughlin and William Charles Mitchell.
His theatre credits include Romeo & Juliet (The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, D.C.), Kidding Jane (Portland Stage Company), Macbeth (Pittsburgh Public Theater), As Bees in Honey Drown (Hangar Theater, Ithaca, New York), and The French (HB Playwrights Foundation, NYC) among others.
[8] In 2009, Powell was a guest commentator on VH1's 100 Greatest One Hit Wonders of the 80s, and also played a Tuskegee Airman in Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.
In 2014, Powell began a recurring role on the television series About a Boy as Richard, Will's workaholic friend, accountant, and business manager.