Posted in: Amazon Studios, Current News, TV | Tagged: Reacher

Reacher Author Explains Why Alan Ritchson "Was the Guy" to Play Jack

Lee Child on the audition process, what he learned about Alan Ritchson, and why Ritchson "was the one, he was the guy" to play Jack Reacher.

We've been hearing from Alan Ritchson recently regarding his ongoing concern that each season of Prime Video's Ritchson-starring adaptation of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels does right by the fans by offering them something fresh and unique while still keeping within the Reacher universe. That level of concern for the character is one of the reasons why Ritchson is so perfect for the part. During an interview with ShortList, Child offered some insights into Ritchson and how he secured the role, including how the pandemic impacted the audition process (in a good way), how Ritchson "owned the role," and what Child learned about Ritchson after choosing him to be Jack Reacher that made the fit even better than anyone expected. "Because of the pandemic situation, we did all the screen casting remotely by video, which was actually a very good idea, because that is all that the viewer is ever going to see – the actor on the screen. And so that is all I ever saw initially," Child explained about how the COVID lockdown forced the production to shift their normal audition process.

Though the author noted that there was "a tremendous number of great actors" who tried out for the role, "Alan was the one, he was the guy. There was no question about that as he owned the role." It was only after signing Ritchson that Child discovered that the actor and Jack Reacher had some very key things in common. "First of all, he is the son of two military veterans who grew up on an Air Force Base, so he really has a connection with the character," Child shared. "Reacher is a thinker as well as a fighter. He is always a step ahead of everybody else. And I found out that Alan, when he was younger, was a seriously good chess player. And so again, that was like a connection with the characters. So the instinctive judgement that we made at the beginning turned out to be exactly right, because he brings with him exactly what we wanted."

Early in September, the actor and executive producer shared an image from the set, taken by "our wildly talented director," Gary Fleder, on social media. "Game face was all the way on today. We might've just shot the best fight ever on Reacher and that's saying something, cause every fight prior this season felt the same way. Season 4 goes hard," read the caption, making another bold promise about what's still to come.

Here's a look back at one of Ritchson's previous posts, sharing an update on how things are going with Season 4:

Shortly after it was announced that the fourth season would be adapting Child's 13th novel, Gone Tomorrow, we learned that Ritchson's Jack Reacher would be joined by Jay Baruchel (FUBAR) as Jacob Merrick (now played by Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette after a casting change); Sydelle Noel (GLOW) as Tamara Green; Agnez Mo (Pernikahan Dini) as Lila Hoth; Anggun (Levitating) as Amisha Hoth; Kevin Weisman (Alias) as Russell Plum; Marc Blucas (My Life with the Walter Boys) as John Samson; Kevin Corrigan (Poker Face) as Detective Docherty; and Kathleen Robertson (The Expanse) as Elsbeth Samson.

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