REACHER Star Alan Ritchson Says He Was a Frontrunner for Marvel's THOR and Explains Why He Lost It
Reacher star Alan Ritchson recently revealed a couple of big superhero roles that he lost out on over the course of his career. He was up for the role of Thor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Nightwing in Titans! But things didn’t work out the way he hoped they would.
I’m sure you all remember that Ritchson played Aquaman in a few episodes of Smallville, but there were some bigger opportunities that came after that he hoped he would land. The role of Thor for Marvel was one of the biggest.
It turns out that Ritchson was a frontrunner for Thor, but his attitude at the time didn’t do him any favors and probably cost him the role. He explained in an interview with Men's Health:
"I didn’t take it seriously. I was like, 'They'll throw me the part if I look like the guy; nobody really cares about acting.'"
Marvel Studios ended up letting his team know the role of Thor had been his to lose, but he didn’t show "the craft." What a strange attitude to have when going into an audition! You’d think an actor would go in prepared to show their talents and skills as an actor! I guess Ritchson learned a hard lesson there.
Chris Hemsworth ultimately got the part, and Ritchson was tormented by his mistake. In fact, he enlisted an acting coach, The Shawshank Redemption's Deborah Aquila, to help him hone his skills.
Then when his opportunity to audition for Nightwing in Titans came around, the actor felt very confident in his abilities and thought he was going to be cast. He explained:
"I was so confident. I was like, 'This is the best damn audition I’ve ever had in my life. There’s no way they can do this show without me.'"
He was so confident that he went out and bought himself a new Tesla, only to lose the role to Brenton Thwaites after he was deemed too old. So that was another big blow. However, he was later cast in the series as Hawk.
Then everything changed for Ritchson when he landed the role of Jack Reacher in the Prime Video series. He said: "I had about 50 offers the weekend after Season 1 of Reacher opened [in 2022]. I knew my life had changed."
So, while things started out rough for him, everything ended up working out for the actor, and he’s been landing some pretty great roles.