Reacher's Alan Ritchson Snuck A Cameo From Author Lee Child Into The Series
Back in 2012, Lee Child's wildly popular Jack Reacher character made his way to the big screen in the form of the Tom Cruise-led "Jack Reacher." The film did solid box office numbers and a sequel, "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back" was rolled out in 2016. Unfortunately, die-hard fans of Child's books weren't all too impressed with the 5-foot 7-inch Cruise playing the role of what was supposed to be an intimidating 6-foot 5-inch hulk of a man. So, once "Never Go Back" proved less financially successful than its predecessor, Child took his IP and went back to the drawing board. And in 2022, the Prime Video streaming series "Reacher" debuted to massive viewership, with 6-foot 3-inch Alan Ritchson in the lead role.
Throughout Jack Reacher's on-screen career, Child was never far away, shepherding his creation as he traversed the perilous landscape of Hollywood. Aside from being an executive producer on "Reacher," the author has lent his expertise to the two Cruise movies, as well as having a cameo in both films and the TV show. In "Jack Reacher" he plays a cop who can be seen behind a desk as the titular ex-military officer is released from jail. Then, in "Never Go Back," he plays a TSA agent who checks Reacher's ID at airport security, looking back and forth between Cruise and his ID in a slightly meta-comment on Child's ability to judge the star's ability to play the role.
But when it came to the streaming show, it would take new star Alan Ritchson to carry on the tradition of the Child cameo.
'My hero is going to be in the scene'
Recalling casting "Reacher," Lee Child revealed in an interview that it was longtime Jack Reacher producer Don Granger that convinced him Ritchson was their leading man. The producer worked on both Jack Reacher movies and came along for the streaming show. And it was Granger to whom Ritchson turned when the idea struck him to have Child appear on-screen.
Ritchson had learned to be Reacher by hanging out with Lee Child, devouring all 28 books and steering clear of watching Tom Cruise's performance so as to keep his own wholly original. And it seems the actor developed a real appreciation for the English writer, telling /Film he "fell in love with what Lee Child has done." So, when he saw an opportunity to bring Child into the show, he took it.
As Ritchson told CinemaBlend, he saw the diner set as the "perfect" place for a Child cameo. The diner is part of the opening episode, where Reacher tries to enjoy a slice of pie before being arrested for a crime he didn't commit. And the season closes with a heartfelt conversation between him and Malcolm Goodwin's Oscar Finlay in that same diner. But before Reacher sits down for his heart-to-heart, he runs into Child himself. As Ritchson explained:
"I remember asking Don Granger [...] if he thought Lee would be up for it, that I wanted him to be in the scene. And he goes, 'Yeah, sure, let me go ask him!' And so he goes, 'Oh, he loved the idea! He's going to do it!' And I was like, 'No way! My hero, my hero is going to be in the scene with me, he wants to do this.' And our paths do cross".
For the fans
Carrying on the tradition of having Lee Child cameo in his character's on-screen exploits is a nice running easter egg for the fans. After all, it's been the fans that have pretty much dictated the direction of Jack Reacher's career thus far, with Child previously stating, "I love Tom [Cruise] as an actor and as a person, [but] my loyalty ultimately has to be with the reader." Those readers wanted a physically imposing actor to portray Reacher and that's exactly what they got, which just goes to show how committed to appeasing the fans Child is.
As such, his repeated appearances in the films and now the streaming show are a way of acknowledging his ongoing input. Unfortunately, it seems Child will be stepping away from the actual writing in future. Recent Jack Reacher novels have been co-written with his younger brother, who writes under the pen name Andrew Child and will take over sole writing duties with forthcoming books.
But with "Reacher" season 2 almost here, we're sure to see Lee Child showing up in yet another cameo, and there's nothing to say that won't continue into the future. That is, unless the all-important fans decide this new season isn't their cup of tea.