Alan Ritchson Learned How To Be Jack Reacher From Hanging Out With Lee Child
Despite Amazon's initial concern that Alan Ritchson wasn't right to play the titular role in their "Reacher" series based on Lee Child's incredibly popular Jack Reacher novels, after the series' first absurdly good season, it seems like this was the role he was meant to play. Ritchson has had a fascinating career trajectory, making his television debut not as Aquaman on "Smallville" as he's typically cited, but as a contestant on the third season of "American Idol" (the same season that gave us future EGOT winner Jennifer Hudson).
Given his towering height and beefy frame, Ritchson unsurprisingly went on to play a variety of muscle-clad characters, like Gloss in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," Hank Hall/Hawk in DC's "Titans," the appropriately named linebacker Thad Castle in "Blue Mountain State," and even Raphael, the most aggressive member of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles."
But playing Jack Reacher is an entirely different beast, as fans have been following the character for over 25 years. The books were famously given the film adaptation treatment in 2012 and 2016 with Tom Cruise as the famed former major in the U.S. Army's military police, but his casting sparked a bit of fan backlash due to Cruise's lack of vertical presence. This put a lot of understandable pressure on Prime Video to find the perfect lead, which came in the form of Alan Ritchson. The actor also knew what was at stake, but in a recent interview with Empire Magazine, said that the key to his performance as Jack Reacher is none other than the character's original creator, Lee Child.
Seeing Lee Child in Jack Reacher
According to Alan Ritchson, Lee Child injected Jack Reacher with some of his own mannerisms. During the Empire interview, Ritchson was asked if he took anything from spending one-on-one time with Child into his performance. "Yeah, I think the way that he kind of speaks out of the side of his mouth, and the way that he kind of holds his face," he said. "In one of the books, he says something like, 'His face is frozen in a half smile, like somebody who's waiting to smile before the shutter releases on a camera' or something. That's where you start to really see Lee in Jack."
Jack Reacher has often been accused of being a male power fantasy, which ... he is! This is a world of romanticized violence with a consummate good guy who can kill just about anyone with his bare hands if need be, and as long as you understand that this is no way a reflection of reality, it's a hell of a lot of fun! Ritchson knows this too, but said, "Where [Child] doesn't have to embellish is in his intellect." There's no denying that Child is an incredibly capable creator, as his stories couldn't be sustainable if it was just 27 novels worth of beat 'em ups.
"The intellect that Reacher has is almost superhero-esque, a kind of intellect like Batman coupled with this raw power and propensity for violence," said Ritchson. "But there's also this kind of dry sardonic humor, and Lee has a lot of that, too." The actor said he was nervous to meet the author, knowing there's a bit of Child in Reacher, but was relieved that he was "gracious and humble and kind and reassuring."
Season 2 of "Reacher" premieres later this year.