Those of us who are older probably remember Tom Cruise, still trying to clean up his image in action movies of every kind, stepping into the shoes of Jack Reacher for two films. Nobody ended up very happy because, basically, he was the complete opposite of the character from the novels, a hulking mass of muscle who looks intimidating at a glance. However, Alan Ritchson took over the role on Amazon Prime Video, and you can’t fault the result: 3 seasons and counting.
Punching his way through life
Now the actor has said that he almost got a role that would have changed his life: Thor in the Marvel movies. However, his audition didn’t go as he expected and Chris Hemsworth ended up, as we know, getting the role. “It was worse than a ‘Is that it?’ moment because I got terrible feedback”. Actors’ worst enemy: having their ego beaten down with hammer blows.
At least, as he remembers it, they didn’t tear him apart: “It was constructive in the sense that the casting director thought it was a sure thing if I simply ‘knew what I was doing,’ as he told me. I wasn’t prepared that day. It’s not going to happen again, and sometimes we need that“. Sadness and life lesson, two in one.
Ritchson, now a media star, puts it plainly: “Are you going to trip over your ego? I could have said anything, but I thought ‘I’m not going to let that happen again’. I stepped away from the business to learn how to act and I’m better, and my work is better. I’m grateful for that hard day”. So much so that now he may get another shot: he’s one of the names most often mentioned to play Batman, and he has confirmed that he and James Gunn talk quite a bit. Holy bat-muscles! Could it be true?
