Alan Ritchson may be the total package as Jack Reacher, but Tom Cruise arguably did one thing better in his version of the character.

SUMMARY

 Fans and Lee Child agree that Alan Ritchson is the closest thing to embodying the iconic character Jack Reacher.
 While Tom Cruise excelled in portraying Reacher’s intelligence, Ritchson’s physicality often overshadows his cerebral side.
 With Tom Cruise being a much smaller Reacher, Alan Ritchson is the quintessential embodiment of the character, according to Lee Child.

As one of the most iconic action stars of all time, it’s hard to imagine another actor playing a role better than Tom Cruise did. However, when it comes to the extremely popular Jack Reacher franchise, fans of the original novels by Lee Child are unanimous that Alan Ritchson is the actor best suited for the role of the eponymous character.

As scintillating as Cruise has been in action franchises like the Mission: Impossible films, there really isn’t a contest regarding Reacher since even Lee Child has famously confirmed he prefers Ritchson to Cruise.

Reacher Star Alan Ritchson Once Stopped a Carjacker: ‘I Was Like, Instant Reacher Mode’

The character is known for his physical attributes, but he also has a broad appeal because of his nuanced backstory, intellectual abilities, and unorthodox lifestyle. Far from just being a one-dimensional, intimidating brute character who relies on physicality, Jack Reacher has burgeoned into a complex character with plenty of depth that makes him compelling for a variety of reasons.

While Alan Ritchson certainly ticks every box required for a well-rounded iteration of the character, that doesn’t mean Tom Cruise was a complete flop in the role. To hardcore Reacher fans, this may be an unpopular opinion, but there’s one aspect of the character Tom Cruise’s version was actually better at.

Cruise vs. Ritchson — How they Compare as Jack Reacher

Reacher

TV-MA
Action
Crime

Release Date: February 4, 2022
Cast: Alan Ritchson , Maria Sten , Malcolm Goodwin , Willa Fitzgerald
Seasons: 2

Jack Reacher is an ex-military police officer and served most of his adult life in the army after growing up on military bases since his father was a marine. Despite his decorated career and stellar reputation as a commander and brilliant investigator, his intractable nature made him enemies, which eventually caused him to turn his back on the army in favor of living something of a nomadic life with hermit-like tendencies.

Physically, the novels describe Reacher as a powerhouse, standing at 6′ ft 5″, weighing 250 lbs, with hands the size of dinner plates. He’s easily the biggest and most intimidating man in any room and backs up his size with deadly skills and ruthless proficiency with an array of weaponry and other tactics.

His physical attributes alone already make it obvious why Alan Ritchson was a superb choice since the native North Dakotan actor almost matches Reacher’s weight and height to a tee since he’s 6′ ft 2″ and weighs around 230 lbs.

On the other hand, Tom Cruise’s physical fitness and conditioning are well-known from the fact that he performs his own death-defying stunts. However, there’s just no getting away from the fact that he stands at just 5′ ft 7″ and weighs approximately 148 lbs. That makes him tiny compared to what Reacher is meant to look like. However, physical stature isn’t the only attribute the character has.

The One Thing Cruise Does Better

Jack Reacher

PG-13
Action
Crime
Documentary
Thriller

Release Date: December 20, 2012
Director: Christopher McQuarrie
Cast: Tom Cruise , Rosamund Pike , Richard Jenkins , David Oyelowo , Werner Herzog , Jai Courtney

Alan Ritchson has perfectly embodied the physical standards of Jack Reacher. That being said, he’s also been pretty great at portraying Reacher’s sharp mind, detective skills, and brooding persona.

However, while Reacher has been praised for sticking closely to the source material, the show often places a lot of emphasis on his physicality. The appeal is understandable since Ritchson’s physique makes him look like he’s carved out of granite. When you have that to work with, the temptation to utilize full-throttle action, brutish fight sequences, and scenes that highlight raw strength is only natural.

However, the downside is that Ritchson’s colossal size and strength can make his intellectual scenes seem slightly contrived. He does a great job with them, but an almost unconscious stereotype bias makes his physical size seem incompatible with the character’s cerebral brilliance at times, at least compared to Cruise.

Seeing Ritchson’s version of Jack Reacher tossing people around like rag dolls makes you half expect him to say things like “Hulk smash” instead of the highbrow deductive reasoning he often employs when figuring out complex clues. Of course, Ritchson doesn’t do a bad job in his scenes, but Cruise has the edge in this instance.

Tom Cruise’s more compact stature lent his version of Reacher a more realistic edge when he displays the character’s propensity to Sherlock his way through seemingly random events and finds brilliant ways to piece together evidence most people wouldn’t even think to look for. This congruence between the fighter and the detective nuances of the character is also a product of Cruise’s proven acting skills.

As a four-time Oscar-nominated actor, and between roles like Ethan Hunt in the Mission: Impossible films, Lestat in Interview with the Vampire, and the unforgettable Les Grossman from Tropic Thunder, Cruise has often demonstrated a superb acting range over the course of his glittering career.

Cruise Could Still Never Embody the Perfect Reacher

Jack Reacher 2

PG-13
Action
Thriller

Release Date: October 19, 2016
Director: Edward Zwick
Cast: Tom Cruise , Cobie Smulders , Danika Yarosh , Austin Hébert , Patrick Heusinger , Aldis Hodge

Despite Tom Cruise having a slight edge when it comes to how convincingly he portrays Jack Reacher’s ability as a super sleuth, his shortcomings on the size front, unfortunately, mean he would never truly work as the Jack Reacher of the books.

On the other hand, no one who’s read Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novels can deny that Alan Ritchson is about the closest thing to the character jumping out of the pages and onto the screen that any fan could have ever asked for.

Tom Cruise was arguably better at being the smart guy but had no chance of being the big guy. However, Cruise was also fantastic at portraying Reacher’s quiet confidence and scathing humor; just ask Sandy during their memorable exchange in Jack Reacher since their conversation went like this:

Reacher: “You old enough to drive?”

Sandy: “I’m old enough to do a lot of things.”

Reacher: “I’m on a budget Sandy.”

Sandy: “What?”

Reacher: “I can’t afford you.”

Sandy: “I’m not a hooker.”

Reacher: “Well, then I really can’t afford you.”

Moments like this made for great examples of the cool smoothness Cruise brought to the character. Alan Ritchson has also proven to be just as effortlessly funny and engrossing, displaying humorous, melancholic, and brooding subtleties to the character at times, making his version a wonderfully well-rounded rendition. In the end, Tom Cruise was in no way an unconvincing Jack Reacher — just a smaller one.

All things said Alan Ritchson is the quintessential Jack Reacher that fans and Lee Child have always wanted since the books first took off. Speaking to Hindustan Times, Lee Child himself confirmed exactly why that was:

I wanted an actor who would step on the screen and just own it and command it and be Reacher without doing anything or saying anything, Alan Ritchson was that person, straightaway he’s very comfortable with not talking which is perfect for Reacher, but very rare for actors and he was very cool with that.

Alan Ritchson can be found on Prime Video in Reacher, while both films featuring Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher can be viewed on Paramount+.