A very young Alan Ritchson once reached for the stars on American Idol and charmed Paula Abdul

Last Updated on March 19, 2024

So many actors have their beginnings on the stage, doing routines that might seem cringe but are 100% part of who they are: a pre-teen Ryan Gosling with those retro dance moves and MC Hammer pants, Rodney Alcala smoothly winning over the ladies on The Dating Game and – OK, maybe that second one doesn’t quite qualify. But here’s another that does: Alan Ritchson on American Idol. That’s right, the star of Reacher once tried to make it big by wooing Paula Abdul.

While Alan Ritchson moved onto Hollywood during the third season of American Idol, he was ultimately cut, with the eventual winner being Fantasia Barrino, who we should note is not a small screen action hero. Ritchson’s standout moment came when he stunned judge Paula Abdul just by being in the room, bringing a smile to her face. He would subsequently personally serenade her with Stevie Wonder’s “You Are the Sunshine of My Life”, prompting her to call him “totally hot.”

The video may be two decades old, but many – ourselves included – are just now getting wind of Alan Ritchson’s dreams to be an American Idol. Plus, it’s always sort of fun to track the beginnings of some of our favorite screen presences. The appearance would prove to be effective, as Alan Ritchson was soon cast as Arthur Curry aka Aquaman on Smallville. While his superheroics would be limited after that (partly due to not taking the chance to play Thor seriously), he has done quite well for himself regardless, turning up in franchise fare tied to The Hunger Games, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Fast & Furious.

Even more recently, Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher has been renewed for a third season and Alan Ritchson will co-star with none other than Arnold Schwarzenegger in Christmas action-comedy The Man with the Bag, which has the following plot: “When Santa’s magic bag is stolen, he turns to his naughty list to find Vance, a former thief, to help him get it back. Along with his daughter, Santa, and a group of misfit elves, Vance will have to pull off the greatest heist of his life to save Christmas.” Now, if we can just get Ritchson to sing Stevie Wonder’s “Someday at Christmas” in the movie, we’ll have a full circle moment.

What is your favorite pre-celebrity fame video? Drop your pick in the comments section below.