Reacher star Alan Ritchson talks the appeal of the character and doing his own stunts for the show

Last Updated on December 20, 2023

Reacher season 2 is now upon us. The Lee Child literary character returns for another case and this new batch of episodes is based on another novel in the book series, titled Bad Luck and Trouble, the 11th installment in the ongoing franchise. Alan Ritchson is the breakout star of Reacher, and after Tom Cruise’s cinematic interpretation, Ritchson is seen as a more faithful adaptation to Child’s description of the character. The Hollywood Reporter recently got to sit down with Ritchson to discuss the show. Reacher became a big hit out of the gate, which put this season renewal on a fast track and a third has already been greenlit. Ritchson gave his impression about why a large audience seems to love the character, “Look, I think on a human level, we all know right from wrong. And we all wish that justice was more swift. We wish our judicial systems and law enforcement were less clumsy and maybe even (not) unethical at times. In Reacher, you have the embodiment of that wish being fulfilled in a single person who’s capable of doing something for us. And that’s exciting for us to think that, maybe somewhere out there someday, we’ll see justice done before we pass. And that is something I think a lot of people are like willing to escape to for a few minutes a week.”

And now that Jack Reacher is on a new investigation, that means Ritchson has to get in fighting shape. The hulking star looks even bigger this time around and he talks doing his own stunts in the new season. “Ryan [Terran, his stunt double], I say good things about him but dude never does anything for me (laughs). He sits there and he eats Craig’s Cookies — a Toronto-based cookie manufacturer that I love and don’t have stock in but I would if I could. Yeah, he doesn’t do anything, he just like stands by the monitor and critiques my performances like, ‘It’s not good enough!’ I’m like, ‘Why don’t you get in there and do your F-ing job!’ And he’s like, ‘Because I don’t want to!’ Actually, he’s Australian: ‘I don’t want tooo, I rather eat a kangaroo somewhere’ (in an attempted Australian accent). That’s kind of how he sounds, and not everybody eats kangaroo. I’m not trying to offend the kangaroo-eating crowd.”

Reacher can currently be streamed on Prime Video. In the review from our own Alex Maidy, he says, “Everything about the second season of Reacher is an improvement over the first, a rarity on television. More often than not, shows enter a sophomore slump by trying to double down on what made the first season work well…This season is more fun, funnier, and worth investing in than the last time around and will surely build new fans for the franchise.” You can read his full take HERE.