Perfectly casting a character like Jack Reacher is no easy task, but many fans say the Reacher team has done just that. Alan Ritchson plays the new incarnation of Jack in the Prime Video series Reacher, which debuted on the streaming service earlier this month. There had been some mixed reactions from fans when his casting was first announced, as many weren’t sure what to expect, but with the series having since been released, it seems most fans are pretty happy with Ritchson in the role.
Reacher showrunner Nick Santora recently spoke about Ritchson’s casting in the series in a new interview with Collider. Santora admits that the part was so difficult to cast that they had even passed over Ritchson initially, though the impression he’d left with his audition had always stayed with them. After having many more talented actors read for the part, it apparently became clear that Ritchson was in fact the person they were looking for.
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After Ritchson was lined up for the part and was doing screen tests, Santora realized that they had made the right decision. What makes the casting even more perfect is how Ritchson is exceptionally kind and professional on the set. This makes having him play Reacher a wonderful experience from both sides of the camera.
“It’s a hard character cast. Don Granger, a producer on this project, says it all the time, ‘Lee Child wrote a character that doesn’t exist in the real world.’ He’s the biggest person in the world. He’s the smartest person in the world. He can be incredibly brave, incredibly smart, and incredibly funny. I’ve never met that person in the real world, so it was a hard casting process. We saw a handful of incredibly talented actors for Reacher. We saw Alan read and we kept looking, but he was always there, in our database. We eventually went back and said, “Let’s look at Alan again.” The actors that auditioned for this role were so good that kudos to Alan for landing the role. He didn’t win it over amateurs. He won it over really talented, seasoned actors.”
“Yeah, when we were doing screen tests with Roscoes. That’s when I could sleep at night. I’ve never once lost a minute of sleep or had a moment of stress about any of our cast. We just had incredibly talented people. I had two sighs of relief during the screen test – one when I knew he was Reacher, and the other that he’s so polite and respectful with the other actors that I said, “I’m not gonna have a jerk who’s number one on the call sheet. I have a nice human being who’s number one on the call sheet.” That sets the tone for everyone on a set. Alan set a tone of being polite and being respectful, and that just makes everyone’s job easier.”
Lee Child Is Also Happy With Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher
Jack Reacher’s creator, Lee Child, was not particularly thrilled with Tom Cruise’s incarnation of the character. In the source material, Jack is described as a much larger man with a very intimidating appearance. In addition to his acting chops, Child also enjoys having Ritchson in the role because he feels that the actor looks the part as well.
“I think that the size thing is important to certain parts of the narrative. Reacher has got to scare people and you can do that so much easier with one glance of this huge animal rather than a normal-sized actor," Child recently explained.
The reception to Reacher has been so strong that the series has been renewed for a second season on Prime Video, where you can find season 1 now streaming.
