The towering charisma of Alan Ritchson is slowly but surely making him a commercial superstar to watch out for. While the star was first noticed in The Hunger Games, it wasn’t till many years later that he became a recognizable face with his marquee gig as the titular protagonist in the Amazon Prime series, Reacher.
While it has been a hard-fought journey to cement his place in the big leagues over the last decade, Ritchson has had his share of opportunities that came his way. While some escaped his grasp narrowly, the high-profile role of Marvel’s Thor was for him to grab with both hands. The actor though, has only himself to blame for letting go of this massive chance.
When Alan Ritchson Grossly Underestimated Thor
Alan Ritchson’s personality and charisma has got fans believing that he could be an ideal choice to play some major superheroes including DCU’s Batman and Sony’s Venom. Ritchson revealed that he was completely flattered by the vote of confidence. Interestingly, the tall star almost got to play a Marvel superhero early on in his career.
In 2011, when Marvel was looking to cast an actor for the role of Thor, Ritchson was one of the stars who auditioned for the part. Unfortunately, The Hunger Games star did not comprehend the gravity of the role or the impact the character would have in the MCU despite physically being perfect for the part.
This led him to take his audition rather lightly with the preconceived notion that he would be chosen for the way he looked. As fate would have it, this overconfident ploy did not work and Ritchson ended up losing out on the golden opportunity. Looking back, the Reacher star confessed that he still regretted his mistake. In an interview with Men’s Health, he said,
“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.’ ”
Ritchson was brought down to earth when he was told that his failed audition was a result of him not showcasing any skills by way of acting prowess or awareness of craft. This ultimately made the franchise turn away from him, and towards Hemsworth.
Alan Ritchson On His Relationship with Jack Reacher
While Alan Ritchson may have sacrificed the marquee role of Thor to Chris Hemsworth by his own folly, the former American Idol contestant looks to have made amends through his hugely popular gig in the action series, Reacher. His physicality and arresting personality made him the perfect candidate to play author Lee Child’s titular protagonist on screen.
The muscular star is currently enjoying the fruits of his labor with Reacher season 2 streaming successfully. Ritchson in an interview with Screen Rant, spoke about his relationship with his character and the comfort level that he now enjoyed while reprising the part for a third season.
“It’s gotten much easier to slip into character. I still wonder to myself, out loud… We just had this long strike, and coming out of the strike, I was like, “How do I, what do I do, how do I do Reacher? What do I do?” And then I get on set and instantly, I’m like, “Oh, no, I know exactly what I need to do.”
The star went on to add that despite being completely at ease on set, he was wary of complacency and over-confidence setting in at any time. This cautioned him to always be vigilant to instruction and advice from his directors on set. It is quite possible that his early callousness with regard to roles like Marvel’s Thor could have led to the actor being more aware of potential opportunities.
Reacher season 1 and 2 can be streamed on Amazon Prime.
