Posted in: Amazon Studios, Preview, streaming, TV, YouTube | Tagged: Alan Ritchson, amazon, inside of you, jack reacher, lee child, michael rosenbaum, Reacher

Reacher: Alan Ritchson on How Size Mattered During Amazon Auditions

The last time we checked in with Reacher & Titans star Alan Ritchson, he was discussing what he learned back from his Smallville days when he went from getting to losing the lead in The CW's "Aquaman" pilot. This time around, Ritchson shifted gears back to the present as he spoke with Michael Rosenbaum on the Inside of You podcast about what it was like auditioning for the role of famed bestselling author Lee Child's hero for Amazon's Prime Video series and how his size became a much bigger factor during the audition process in light of the pushback from Child's fans who felt Tom Cruise's smaller stature in comparison to the original literary version hurt the big screen's Jack Reacher adventures at the box office.

During the clip from an interview that took place prior to the release of Reacher, Ritchson doesn't waver in expressing his appreciation for the opportunities the role has given him but he also admits that he has a "chip on his shoulder" because of just how intensive the audition process was. Though he was surprised by there being "lots of cooks" in the process, he also said he understood because there was a high level of importance placed on getting the series right by everyone involved. Sharing that his take on the initial audition scene may not have been the best way to go, the production passed on everyone initially before its approach to casting the role was "reimagined" and a casting director saw something into Ritchson's audition that got him back into the loop.

After making it a point of crediting Cruise for getting the Child's character some major big-screen attention with two feature films, it was the fallout from the debate over whether or not Cruise was physically right for the role that made the size of the lead a major factor. Ritchson reveals how he had to strip down and measure himself on Zoom to prove his height and other physical measurements. In fact, Ritchson would go on to add another 30 lbs of mass (going from 205 lbs to 235 lbs) for the role, one that he says was his "most challenging shoot" and one that "just about killed" him. Here's a look at the full clip:

And here's a look at the entire interview, where Ritchson and Rosenbaum cover a number of subjects, from his battle with bipolarism, his struggles to find an identity in Hollywood, what it was like getting and then losing The CW's "Aquaman" pilot, hitting rock-bottom mentally, and more:

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