Alan Ritchson stars as beloved crime novel character Jack Reacher in the new Reacher series launching on Amazon Prime on Feb 2. Photo / Supplied
Alan Ritchson stars as beloved crime novel character Jack Reacher in the new Reacher series launching on Amazon Prime on Feb 2. Photo / Supplied
Somewhere in the world someone buys a Lee Child novel every nine seconds. At least that was the stat tossed at Child two years ago during an interview when he was asked about a proposed new series based on his literary creation, Jack Reacher.
The new series in question isnow set to launch on Amazon Prime Video on Friday. Simply titled Reacher, it will see Alan Ritchson - best known for playing Hawk in the Netflix series Titans - step into Jack Reacher's large shoes.
The 39-year-old actor is the perfect vehicle to attract new Reacher fans and reassure die-hard ones. He is large of stature and ruggedly handsome, but most importantly he portrays Reacher's social awkwardness with charming subtlety. This is a man who has never lived a normal life, never mastered small talk and doesn't have much to say. It is in this important way that Ritchson is so uncomfortably perfect.
Alan Ritchson stars as beloved crime novel character Jack Reacher in the new Reacher series launching on Amazon Prime on Feb 2. Photo / Supplied
Talking to Ritchson about the role, he admits with humble pride that the fact that he is a bit of a "nerd" played a big part in seeing him cast as Reacher. Recalling a recent interview conducted alongside Lee Child, Ritchson recalls that Child liked that side of him, laughing as he admits: "I'm nerdy enough for Lee".
Ritchson boasts that he has read all 24 Jack Reacher novels, "several of them twice". This voracious reading provided Ritchson with a literal library of detail about the character he was playing. "I understand who this guy is and I was drawn to him," Ritchson shares. "There's nothing morose about him," he continues. "He's not down about his past or the trauma that he's experienced. He's just living his best life."
Malcolm Goodwin (L) stars alongside Richtson as senior detective Oscar Finlay, in the upcoming Reacher series on Amazon Prime. Photo / Supplied
Reacher, for those who are not already acquainted, is an ex-military investigator who was pensioned out of the service and now lives a nomadic life, often (always) running into some trouble. Surprisingly it is here that Ritchson most identifies with Reacher. "I too have just always been a restless soul," Ritchson admits, "for no apparent reason, when I was 16 I just started running away, living in my little truck ... I'd live behind dumpsters. That made me happy. I wanted to be on my own."
Ritchson's height was obviously another key factor in his casting. In the new Reacher series there is a lot of focus on his size. In Child's books, Reacher is clearly described as extremely tall, muscular and broad-chested. It is for this reason that fans were so unwilling to accept actor Tom Cruise as Reacher when he starred in the two film adaptations (2012 and 2016) of Child's novels. Ritchson, who stands at around 6 feet 3 inches (around 190cm) tall, is quite literally a better fit than Cruise was, who, at around 5 foot 7 inches (170cm), fell short.
Willa Fitzgerald is a delight as Rosco Conklin, the young detective who is the first to realise that Reacher (played by Richson - Left) is more than he seems. Photo / Supplied
Ritchson's Reacher is complex and introspective. When pondering why Reacher is so taciturn, the actor muses: "We had a lot of conversations about where that social awkwardness comes from." Maybe it is "hardwired" into him or perhaps he just likes to "enjoy the thoughts in his head", Ritchson added.
The impetus for this new series is clearly driven by the desire to give fans the Reacher they know and love from the page. Obvious effort has been made to stay true to the characters and the plotline of Child's first Reacher novel, Killing Floor, on which this first Reacher series is based. Everything from the title of the new series – simply "Reacher" - is more in tune with the original character as Child wrote him, with his protagonist often shrugging off the term "Mr" and insisting, "just Reacher". There is also an attention to music here that features heavily in the Reacher novels. Child always wore his blues and country music fandom on his literary sleeve.
In this, the golden age of streaming, Reacher is a binge-worthy addition to the on-demand television cannon. Production values are high, clever cinematography abounds, dialogue is sharp and cliffhangers reign supreme.
"I think this is one of the best things I have ever been a part of," gushes Ritchson. "It's just really good TV."
