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Reachers Alan Ritchson: People assume that Im either an a-hole or brutishly dumb


Mild spoilers for Reacher that shouldn’t ruin anything
I started watching the new Amazon Reacher series over the weekend. I was surprised at how enjoyable it is and how much I like the characters, especially the lead, huge hottie Alan Ritchson. I have about three episodes to go. The plot is moderately complicated, but my brain is fried and I have a hard time putting my phone down to pay attention. So many other people have enjoyed this show that it’s already been renewed for a second season! It’s of course based on the book series by Lee Child, which I haven’t read yet. My mom said that it’s true to the books and she loved it. Star Alan Ritchson is absolutely a joy to watch. He goes shirtless in just about every episode, and unlike the star of the films, Tom Cruise, the 6’4″ Ritchson, 37, has the massive physicality of the character. He weighs 235 pounds, having gained 30 pounds for this role.

It turns out that Ritchson has read all the books, he did it after he was cast, and that he’s much more gracious and complimentary about the show than I expected. He’s used to people having negative assumptions about him. Ritchson told Collider that people expect him to be an a-hole because of his stature. Below are some excerpts from that interview, credit to Christina Radish at Collider for transcribing the whole thing, and you can watch it below. This was conducted before the show was renewed.

Was it fun to incorporate some of the obvious issues that come up and some of the natural humor that arises from being so tall? Was all of that always in the script, or was some of that added along the way?
RITCHSON: Yeah, I think a lot of it was in the script. There’s an awareness that he has, that the world perceives large people in a certain way. A lot of that he uses to his advantage. I experience, in my own life, being not small. People assume that I’m either an asshole or brutishly dumb, and I would like to think that I’m not either. I think Reacher uses that to his advantage. But yes, there’s an awareness in being able to talk about what the world is like for large people, and a lot of people don’t deal with those kinds of challenges or difficulties or stereotypes. That was fun. I think Nick Santora, our writer/showrunner, did a really incredible job capturing who this guy is and adapting what (author) Lee [Child] set up on the page. A lot of that, I give credit to Santora and the writers.

I love the odd buddy duo dynamic going on between Reacher and Finlay. It’s such a fun relationship because those two characters couldn’t be more different. What did you enjoy about that dynamic, and what did Malcolm Goodwin bring to that relationship?
RITCHSON: Malcolm Goodwin is one of the finest actors I’ve worked with. He brought a lot to the character. He made those scenes very fun. Even within a scene, working with him, I would think to myself, “This is so fun, to be able to watch him work this close.” You’ve got this odd couple. There’s something very nostalgic about it, almost like that ‘80s odd couple that we’ve seen in some features. There’s a lot of tension and conflict at first, and their relationship develops over the course of the season, and becomes rather touching and heartfelt at moments. It was a lot of fun to work with him on that. I think a lot of times, it takes a few episodes to hit a stride with another actor that you haven’t worked with before, and both with Malcolm and Willa Fitzgerald, who plays Roscoe, it was immediate. The chemistry was there in a very immediate and rare way. It didn’t take us any time at all. By the time we were finished shooting the first episode, it felt like we’d been working together for years. I think that’s a credit to who they are as performers, and it was a real gift to work with them.

Have you already started to have conversations about a second season? Would you go in order and do the second book for a second season?
RITCHSON: There are 26 now, and I think I would do them all. If we could wrap this up when I’m 74 or 75, I’d be happy. Yeah, sure. I don’t know about a second season, but my fingers are crossed as hard as anyone.

[From Collider]

Again, he was impressively humble. You can tell he’s a fan, that he loves working on this show and that there was excellent camaraderie on set. It comes through in the show too! Now I want to read the books.

Ritchson did an AMA for Reddit on Friday. He was so funny and self-deprecating. The top question is about the fact that there’s a lack of full frontal scenes in the show. His answer was “refer to my true to life New Girl microp3nis episode.” Now I have to watch that. He was also told to thank his wife and kids for their sacrifices for his career. He’s been married to Catherine Ritchson for 16 years and they have three boys together (I could not find their ages). Ritchson wrote “Wow! This is a huge comment. People have NO IDEA what a family has to sacrifice for someone in my line of work. I will tell them you said this. Thanks for recognizing the real heroes in my life.” That’s so nice!

Ritchson has responded to the news of the show being renewed. He was effusive about it and this was a joy to read. We’re going to be seeing a lot more of him.

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