Reacher season 3 has brought new challenges for Alan Ritchson’s Jack Reacher, including one who has proven to be the protagonist’s most physically formidable opponent yet. Adapting author Lee Child’s third novel in his Jack Reacher series, Persuader, the latest season of the Prime Video show has been lauded by critics as an impressively faithful recreation of the source material. With the season finale hitting Prime Video March 27, Reacher has a chance to clear the already high bar many have agreed it has established.

Thanks to Reacher season 3 cast that have upped the stakes for Reacher like never before, this is a real possibility. Olivier Richters’ Paulie is a perfect example, with the Dutch bodybuilder’s character presenting a true threat for Reacher thanks to his imposing physique and combat acumen. Richters himself has been seen before in high-profile projects including Marvel’s Black Widow and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

ScreenRant’s Joe Deckelmeier spoke with Olivier Richters about his work on Reacher. The actor shared the story of how Alan Ritchson helped him get cast, discussed his experience working on a show he was already a fan of, and teased a massive fight between Paulie and Reacher in the season finale. Plus, Richters shared his hopes for being cast in projects like Amazon’s recently announced live-action God of War.

Reacher Star Alan Ritchson Got Olivier Richters Cast As Paulie

It Was All Thanks To A Reddit Post

It wouldn’t be surprising to discover that Paulie was one of the more difficult characters to cast in Reacher season 3. The character of Jack Reacher is known in the books to have an impressive physique, and Alan Ritchson is uniquely tailored for the role in that way. How do you find someone who can outmatch Ritchson in that way? Reddit, apparently, as Ritchson himself found out. “He found me on Reddit,” Olivier Richters said of his casting, “Somebody posted me and he asked casting, ‘Hey, can you find out if this giant can act?’”

Richters was already a fan of the show when he sent in his audition: “I was already a fan, and it’s very unrealistic that you’re a fan of the show and then, a few months later, you’re across [from] the main character you used to watch,” Richters reflected, “Sometimes I say it feels like I live in the Matrix–you don’t know what’s real anymore.”

But before Richters ed the series, he had to prove he was up for the task. That involved sending in two scenes: “the gym scene and the first scene in the season where I meet Reacher at the gates.” Interestingly, the actor’s initial take on Paulie was not what audiences came to see. Richters shared his first approach, saying, “I did it very playfully. I wanted to make Reacher feel like a child, but they [wanted a] straight face.” “They told me they can see that I’m Paulie, but I did the scene wrong,” Richters itted.

Jack Reacher Allowed Richters To Be More Than A Gimmick

The Self-Described Giant Is Usually Asked To “Do A Little Trick, And That’s It”

Before Reacher, Richters was often cast for his imposing presence, but not for his acting ability, the actor revealed: “As a giant, seven foot two, 160 kilos, normally the parts that people like me get [are], you go in, you go out, you do a little trick, and that’s it. As much as I love to do that–I did that, for example, on Marvel’s Black Widow or Indiana Jones, at some point after Indiana Jones, my agent said, ‘We are ready for the next step. We’re only going to do castings where we have lines.”

“This is the first time in many years that the giant gets a huge fight, but also a buildup with lines,” Richters revealed. “Think of roles like The Mountain in Game of Thrones–doesn’t speak. Jaws in James Bond doesn’t speak. Alien vs. Predator–the big guys in the suits don’t speak,” he continued, “It was special for me that they gave me this chance to prove that I can do more than just be frightening.”

Olivier Richters Shares Lessons Learned From Alan Ritchson

Richters Believes Ritchson’s Advice Helped Make Paulie A Better Character

“He taught me some acting stuff not because he needed to, but because he wanted to make Paulie even better,” Richters said of his collaboration with Ritchson. “He did it in a very respectful way,” the actor continued, “like, ‘Hey, what if you say this?’ which was off script. He got the director in, and he made my lines better than were in the script. That was awesome for me, of course–he brought his experience into my character [so] that I could even perform better.”

Ritchson didn’t only help with lines Richters was saying–he also helped the actor with the delivery itself. When asked about specific acting tips Ritchson gave Richters, Richters said, “[He talked about] sometimes more throwing the lines away. I’ve been on Marvel [movies], and that’s maybe a little bit more acting in an overexaggerated way, because you can, and Reacher is more like we are speaking now.”

“Sometimes,” Richters continued, “he felt like, ‘No, let’s say that a bit more like it’s throwaway.” The series lead had other advice, too, Richters shared: “At some point a body is falling out of a car in front of me and my line is very simple–’What the f***?’ And you can think, ‘Well, what’s going to go wrong with that?’ But I said it and Alan came up to me and [explained], ‘If you say that, you should say that into yourself. You don’t say that out loud.’ Those small things make the line, even if it’s three words.”

The Reacher Finale Will Have A Next-Level Fight Scene, Teases Richters

“I Think The Internet Is Going To Explode”

As impressive as Paulie has been throughout this season of Reacher, Richters teased a finale fight that will take things to the next level. “What I think I can [say] is that there are a lot of different fighting areas–if I count correctly, six of them–which makes the fight very diverse. It's not just fist fighting. The areas are different and we have to adjust to the areas we end up in.”

The fight is “90% realistic,” Richters continued, but he believes the other ten percent will push audiences over the edge: “What I also love about the fight is that 10 percent is unrealistic, as in, “Okay, can a human survive that?” but you’re like, “Of course you can.” You want the fight to continue. There's some point that we just don't die, and that's why the fight can continue so long. It's super entertaining.”

Without giving too much away, Richters touched on the immense amount of preparation the fight required and revealed one key aspect, saying, “The preparation that went into this was, for me, three to four months of four hours a day of stunt training to make it as safe as possible during all the choreography. [I had to] overcome my fear of water because there are water scenes [in] one of the six areas.” Richters deserves lots of credit for the water scene as well, revealing, “I had a drowning experience in real life … mentally, the water scene was intense.”

“I really hope people will love it because the time and money and effort spent [on] it is insane,” Richters added, “and it's such a strong buildup. 240 countries are going to view it. I think the internet is going to explode after the release of this episode next week.”

Richters Reflects On The Slap That Changed His Life

“My IMDB Page Already Got Viewed 17 Million Times”

It’s an understatement to say that fans have responded well to Richters’ Paulie, especially considering one moment that seems to have shot him to the top of many viewers’ minds. Richters reflected on being the first one to really get an upper hand on the character of Reacher. “I was watching this series and I said to my agent, ‘Hey, I'm reading the script at the moment. Did you read that I'm going to be the first one that got Alan on his knees, and even on the floor with a big slap?’”

While Richters’ agent apparently replied with a dry, “‘Yes, I read that, Olivier’”, fans responded differently. “My IMDB page already got viewed 17 million times [in] the last 30 days,” Richters revealed, “and it got my popularity from 5,000 to number 12 as an actor on IMDB. That's absolutely insane–how much people are loving Paulie and want to know more.”

Alan Richtson Might Just Be The Perfect Batman

The Reacher Star Has Been Campaigning For The Role

Reacher star Alan Ritchson has made it no secret that he wishes to play Bruce Wayne in a future Batman project. Richters can see it: “Batman is always the combination of being smart, having money, but also the physical thing, and somehow Reacher has it as well … and I think Alan showed how diverse he can be in other roles.”

“I forgot the last war movie he did,” Richters said, potentially speaking of Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, “[but] he was so different with that accent. So, with his physical ability and having experience with playing a smart guy, I think he can really play Batman.” Plus, Richters said, “I think he also has the face for it. He has the good jaw and the hairline. I can see that it absolutely can work.”

The actor only had one piece of advice for his co-star: “I don’t know if it's true, but I read that he would even do it for free. I don't think he should, but that just tells us how much he wants it.”

Someone Cast Olivier Richters In Prime Video’s Live-Action God Of War

The Actor Also Shared Two Other Roles He Hopes To Land

After weighing in on Alan Ritchson’s future acting prospects, Olivier Richters shared hopes of his own. “Last week it was announced by Amazon that they’re going to make God of War,” Richters said, “Of course I want to be Kratos, but I don't believe they would ever pick me for Kratos. I'm just too darn big. But there is a god that's bigger than Kratos, and that is Týr, or also Thor. I asked my agent, “You have to pursue this for me. Amazon now knows me. Can Paulie play in God of War?” That's one of my dream roles.”

That’s not all: “My other dream role is in Harry Potter–they’re going to make Hagrid, that [would] be crazy,” Richters said (Unfortunately for him, it was recently announced that Shaun of the Dead star Nick Frost was closing in on that role). “And I still have the dream to play Colossus in Marvel–the human version. Those three are my dream rules I want to pursue.”

The Reacher season 3 finale drops Thursday, March 27 on Amazon Prime Video.