Alan Ritchson Details Epic 'Reacher' Fight Sequence That Took ...

Across two record-setting seasons, Alan Ritchson has proved his mettle and then some as larger-than-life antihero Jack Reacher on Prime Video’s Reacher. The success added rocket fuel to Ritchson’s career, making him one of the most in-demand action stars in Hollywood. So to hear him say there is an epic fight sequence in Reacher’s third season that took three weeks to film and left him broken and battered is enough to give anyone pause.

In classic Reacher form, however, Ritchson is quick to qualify the shocking details by saying that it was all worth it. “It was a really difficult thing to get through,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter. “But it was also really rewarding.”

Bruises and all, Ritchson believes fans will love what’s to come. Season three debuted on Thursday with the first three of eight episodes.

Based on Lee Child’s novel Persuader, the third season finds Reacher thrust into a criminal enterprise in an attempt to rescue an undercover DEA informant whose time is running out. The investigation finds Reacher smack dab in the center of a mysterious rug import business called Bizarre Bazaar. Reacher dives deep into an undercover ring by securing a job inside the operation, which is led by a business tycoon named Zachary Beck, played by Anthony Michael Hall.

Beck’s luxury waterfront compound is guarded by Paul Masserella, aka Paulie, who is played by Olivier Richters. Nicknamed “the Dutch Giant” for a 7’2”, 350-lb. frame, Richters is best known as professional bodybuilder and fitness model turned actor who has been seen in Marvel’s Black Widow, The King’s Man, Borderlands and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. As seen in the trailer below, the entire season leads up to a Reacher versus Paulie smack down.

The Hollywood Reporter managed to pin Ritchson down for a quick interview about the big fight, Richters’ preparation for the heavyweight role and why Reacher’s rigid moral compass means he’s a man with no character arc.

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You described the new season as “riveting” on Instagram. I assume that was a very specific word choice. What makes this season so riveting?

Man, there’s so many facets to this that we get to enjoy for the first time. With pacing alone, this thing starts out and we’re just off to the races. We don’t let up. The entire time it feels like we’re in this explosive action sequence, kind of wondering why we’re dropped in the middle of this fight. Later, there is this incredible reveal and the whole season unravels around this really fun mystery. We haven’t done anything quite like this yet, and I think this will be the fans’ favorite season for sure, at least among the first three [season] and maybe for a long time. [Note: Reacher has already been renewed for season four.]

We’re used to seeing Reacher be extremely strategic, cunning and explosive in his decision making, and this season we see him sort of on his toes a little to stay in the mission. What was it like as an actor to play those shades of Reacher this season?

It’s funny because people sometimes ask me about the arc and the evolution of Reacher, and there really isn’t any. I think if we do Reacher right, there isn’t a great evolution. He’s a stoic figure with a rigid moral compass. It’s his world that changes, and we get to enjoy the new celestial objects that come into his orbit. But there is an energy to this season that we haven’t really gotten to see yet. Whereas during season one, we set a record for seven and a half minutes where the lead never speaks. It was a really hard and terrifying thing to do as an actor because I was thinking, “Is this going to be interesting?” But with season three, we’re in the fight from the first few seconds of the show starting. It’s just a more exciting thing to lean into, because you feel like there are no doubts that this is a lot of fun for the audience.

One thing that the audience is definitely excited about is seeing how this epic battle is going to play out between Reacher and Paulie, played by Olivier Richters. Can you tell me about the logistics in preparing for that fight? What was the shoot like? How many days did it take?

I started by breaking my shins and adding a good 12 inches to my height just so I’d be on par with him. He’s a beast, and looking up at him is a little intimidating. He worked really hard. He spent, I think, four months preparing just to get his fight skills where he felt they needed to be. He showed up really ready. Over the course of the season, there’s a lot of tension mounting between these two characters, and it all comes to a head with this one grand fight that took three weeks for us to film. Those were the three hardest weeks of my life. I mean, both of us were broken and battered and had bone breaks and tendon tears by the end. It was a really difficult thing to get through. But it was also really rewarding. The audience hasn’t really gotten to experience anything quite like this. Reacher usually handles himself really easily and it’s anything but this season. I think people will really enjoy it.

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Reacher season three is now streaming the first three episodes on Prime Video, followed by subsequent episodes every Thursday through March 27 in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.