Movies - TV
Alan Ritchson Learned How To Be Jack Reacher From Hanging Out With Lee Child
By BJ COLANGELO
With fans’ backlash to Tom Cruise’s film portrayal of Jack Reacher, Prime Video felt a lot of pressure to find the perfect lead for its series "Reacher," which came in the form of Alan Ritchson. The actor also knew what was at stake, and in a recent interview, he revealed that the key to his performance was none other than the character's original creator, Lee Child.
Ritchson told Empire Magazine that Child injected Reacher with some of the author’s own mannerisms. "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 before recalling a particular scene from one of the books where Reacher's face is "frozen in a half smile," which made him see Child in Reacher.
Reacher's strength and power aren't a reflection of reality, but Ritchson claimed, "Where [Child] doesn't have to embellish is in his intellect," adding, "The intellect that Reacher has is almost superhero-esque [...] But there's also this kind of dry sardonic humor, and Lee has a lot of that, too." The actor also said that he found Child "gracious and humble and kind and reassuring."