For Lee Child, the new actor for his character Jack Reacher is satisfying. The author of the books on which the ‘Reacher’ series is based, 67, has made his opinion known about the recasting of the main character in the new Amazon Prime Video adaptation based on his books and basically he’s glad they cast a different actor to play the ex-military man after Tom Cruise He embodied it in two films.
Reacher is also physical
Fans were concerned about Cruise’s height, as Reacher is described in a book as “extremely tall, extremely broad, with long arms and long legs, with hands the size of dinner plates“. Alan Ritchson, who is almost 1’90, stars in the new series as the titular character.while Cruise, 59, is 1’7. Child is an executive producer on the new project and spoke to Metro about the casting:
“There was criticism from fans of the books because they had created a very clear image of what Reacher should be like. It just became a different proposition and I guess the opportunity to think ‘Okay, we can get a much bigger guy to make the fans of the books happy’. But we are also focusing on the non-book audience. What do you need? They just need great entertainment, they don’t have the reference yet, so we had to satisfy them as well.”
Child added that he understood what viewers wanted; even if also highly appreciates Cruise’s work.
“I think size is important for certain parts of the narrative. Reacher has to scare people, and you can do it much more easily with a look from this huge animal instead of a normal-sized actor.
Too Ritchson, 37, spoke recently with The Post about his new role and how his size was a huge asset.
“I put on 30 pounds for the role and I feel great. This is my life size, and it feels good to be able to be me. Of course, there is the physical aspect. We are both the same size. That gives you a certain kind of confidence when you walk and I think we share that. I love Tom Cruise. I’ve seen all his other movies. He is an icon, a living legend. There’s no one like him. But this was a project where I wanted to try and make Reacher my own, out of respect for the fans who love the books and want to see a real Jack, and this was my chance.”