Reacher star Alan Ritchson recalls "crushing" his lengthy audition and winning the lead role in the show, despite Amazon having promised it to someone else. Based on Lee Child's Jack Reacher novel series, the hit Prime Video adaptation premiered in 2022, following Ritchson as the titular former military police officer as he travels from town to town taking down criminals. Reacher recently returned for season 3, earning some of the show's most positive reviews yet with its adaptation of Child's Persuader novel, propelling Ritchson to yet new heights as a leading man.

In a recent video for Wired in which he answers questions suggested by Google's autocomplete search feature, Ritchson reveals that he wasn't actually the original choice to star in Reacher and that another actor had been promised the part. Though Ritchson doesn't reveal the name of the other actor in question, he explains that he was ultimately able to win Amazon and the show's creative team over by nailing his eight-month audition process. Check out Ritchson's response below when faced with the autocomplete question of why he was cast as Reacher:

“I asked myself the same question and so did the studio because they went back like multiple times like, ‘I’m not sure this is the right guy. We want somebody bigger and stronger and faster.’ But, yeah, I don’t know, I ask myself the same thing and every day I fight for my job because there’s like an asterisk by this thing for me.

“It wasn’t an easy get. It was an eight-month audition process, okay? You think I felt wanted at the end of the eight-month process when they’re like, ‘Fine.’ And then I find out after the fact that they promised the job to another dude. And I was just like, I just happened to be crushing the audition. And they were like, ‘I guess we have to like strongly consider this guy who was just supposed to be somebody we threw in the mix.’ And I ended up winning the role. So, I too ask myself the same question. Thanks for that.”

What Alan Ritchson's Casting Means For Reacher

Ritchson Has Been Key To The Prime Video Show's Success

It's not clear who else was in contention to lead the Reacher cast, but Amazon evidently made the right choice. The show debuted to strong reviews in 2022, and these reviews have generally remained positive throughout the show's run. In his Reacher season 3 review for ScreenRant, Greg MacArthur writes that "Ritchson once again proves that he was born to play Reacher, a role he nearly lost but fought his way back to landing."

The success of Reacher extends beyond positive reviews, however. The show has been a massive viewership win for Amazon, and it remains one of Prime Video's most popular original shows of all time. Reacher season 4, which will start filming this summer.

The world of Reacher is set to further expand with Neagley, a spinoff focusing on Maria Sten's s Neagley. The spinoff is currently in production.

Our Take On Ritchson's Reacher Casting Story

Amazon Avoided A Tom Cruise Problem

Ritchson's story highlights just how seriously Amazon took the Reacher casting process after the backlash to Tom Cruise's casting as the character for the two movie adaptations in 2012 and 2016. The character is described as being 6'5" and 250lbs in Child's novels, a limiting factor when it comes to who can be cast. Ritchson is 6'3", and it's possible that the other actor the role had been promised to more accurately reflects the character's size in the books.

Even though Ritchson may not be exactly as big as the Reacher described in the books, he certainly nails other aspects of the character, including his natural sense of charisma and intelligence. Plus, the show is filmed in such a way that Ritchson still looks very physically intimidating and much larger than most of the other characters. As Reacher season 3 continues to entertain, it's clear that the right actor was chosen for the part.

Source: Wired