Apparently, he didn’t take it seriously enough.

Alan Ritchson as Jack Reacher in Reacher Season 2Image via Prime Video

THE BIG PICTURE

 Alan Ritchson may have missed out on Thor, but his journey to Jack Reacher has made him a star.
 Lack of professionalism cost Ritchson the Thor role, but lessons learned led to his success in Reacher.
 Ritchson’s performance as Jack Reacher has opened up new opportunities, with Season 3 on the way.

Alan Ritchson may well be the avatar chosen by Jack Reacher to “blend in with normal people”, but the persona chosen by Reacher — ‘journeyman actor’ — has proven to be quite the eventful road.

Ritchson, it turns out, may never have graced our screens in the Prime Video hit series Reacher had he taken the “craft” of acting more seriously when he was handed the keys to the Kingdom of Asgard in an audition for Thor, only to make a mess of his audition and throw away what may have been his once-in-a-lifetime chance, as he told Men’s Health in a new profile.

Speaking in regretful tones, Ritchson admitted he’d blown what he figured might be the opportunity of a lifetime, due to a lack of professionalism — he assumed because he looked the part, he would get it as skill wasn’t important. “I didn’t take it seriously,” said Ritchson. “I was like, ‘They’ll throw me the part if I look like the guy; nobody really cares about acting.’ ”

In the aftermath of the audition, the casting team led by Sarah Halley Finn at Marvel told the actor’s representatives that Ritchson was the top choice for the role, but his performance was so disappointing that they wouldn’t be casting him, noting he hadn’t shown the required “craft” to take on the role.

Alan Ritchson Blew His Audition for ‘Thor’

Alan Ritchson and Maria Sten, wielding pistols, while running through a cemetary in Reacher Season 2Image via Prime Video

After the audition, the casting cabal told his team the role had been his to lose but he hadn’t shown that he had “the craft.” It wasn’t his first superhero-related blow, either.

In 2005, he won the part of Aquaman in Smallville and, having appeared as a guest star, was told he’d be starring in a spin-off based around the character, only to find out Justin Hartley would get the role instead.

All the failures — plus acting lessons via Deborah Aquila, who cast The Shawshank Redemption and who is now executive vice president of casting at Paramount Television Studios and CBS Studios — eventually led him to auditioning for Reacher.

And everyone knew Jack Reacher had walked into the room, even if his hands aren’t quite the size of Thanksgiving turkeys. It made him a star. “I had about 50 offers the weekend after season 1 of Reacher opened [in 2022],” Ritchson says. “I knew my life had changed.”

Reacher is streaming now on Prime Video. Season 3 is expected to drop at the end of this year. Ritchson also stars in Ordinary Angels alongside Hilary Swank. Ordinary Angels is now playing in theaters.