I’m not exactly six foot five and I’m not exactly 250, and I had heard that they were being very specific with their physical demands. “It’s funny, I actually didn’t get the role at first.
RELATED: 'Jack Reacher' Getting Rebooted as a TV Series Lee Child Says Tom Cruise Was Too ShortĬollider’s own Christina Radish spoke with Ritchson about his new film Dark Web: Cicada 3301 (which he directed and co-wrote), and during their conversation Ritchson talked about the intense audition process for the Jack Reacher TV show and how he originally didn’t get the role: So when it came time to cast the new Jack Reacher, Ritchson – whose credits range from the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies to the DC Universe series Titans – auditioned but didn’t feel too confident. When it was first announced that a Jack Reacher TV series was being made, Child admitted that while he liked Cruise, he ultimately agreed with fans that he was wrong for the lead role – Cruise is 5’7” whereas Reacher is described as being 6’5”.
A sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back, was produced with a different director, but after that was released and Cruise got busy with Mission: Impossible, the producers decided it was time to reboot the franchise all over again - this time on the small screen.
Child’s books were first adapted by Christopher McQuarrie on the big screen with Tom Cruise in the lead role, but despite the fact that 2012’s Jack Reacher absolutely rules, some fans were displeased with Cruise’s physical differences from the book’s Jack Reacher. Author Lee Child’s beloved book series following the character of Jack Reacher has an absolutely rabid fan-base, which explains why actor Alan Ritchson – who is the new Jack Reacher for the upcoming Amazon series - was pessimistic about his chances of landing the lead role.