Reacher's Alan Ritchson Credits The Show With Teaching Him How To Punch With His Head
The success of "Reacher" has arguably done a lot for Alan Ritchson's career, and apparently, the show also gave him an unexpected gift that allows the star's head to be utilized in the same manner as a fist.
Alan Ritchson isn't a household name, but there is a reason some viewers may feel that the "Reacher" headliner looks so familiar. With credits dating back to 2006, it's no surprise some people have most likely seen some of his previous work like "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire," two "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" live-action movies, and as Hawk on "Titans." His previous action-packed efforts prepared him for his role in "Fast X" and made bringing a highly trained soldier in the Amazon series to life much easier.
But while he had an abundance of combat training beforehand, his time as Jack Reacher resulted in the addition of a new weapon to add to his arsenal. "My life hack is I learned how to fight with elbows and the back of my head," the actor said during an interview with CinemaBlend. "If I ever need to punch somebody with the back of my head, I actually know how to do that, and that's a very dangerous move." Ritchson added, "I've been a fighter for a long time, and I've put it to use in a lot of different shows and films, but this was a whole different style of fighting, and having that in the tool kit is fun." Despite being able to punch someone's lights out with his skull, there surprisingly was a time when the skilled action star didn't think he could fight like Reacher.
Reacher's fighting style made Ritchson nervous at first
After watching the show, fans realize taking down several foes at once with nothing but his bare hands is Jack Reacher's specialty, and even though the actor makes it look so easy on screen, there was a point when Alan Ritchson didn't think he could handle Reacher's unique fighting style. "I was like 'I can never fight like that like.' I've been doing fights and stunts my whole career and I've done a lot of the martial arts," the actor said to SlashFilm. "[Jack Reacher] moves in such a way that elbows and knees become a tool that we're just not used to seeing — elbows used like knives."
Despite doubting his abilities, he remained dedicated to the role. Eventually, he pulled off Reacher's moves in a manner that has earned him and the people responsible for the show's exhilarating action sequences some much-deserved acclaim from showrunner Nick Santora. "All the credit goes to the stunt team, the choreographers, and Alan," Santora said in an interview with SlashFilm. He went on to praise the star's devotion to the role, saying, "Alan's the one who has to actually do this crazy stuff. And he takes it very seriously, and you can see it comes out great because he puts the work in. Alan Ritchson is the least lazy person I've ever met in my life." From overcoming his "Reacher" combat nerves to the point of gaining next-level head-punching abilities to reading the source material a number of times to perfect the persona, there is more than enough evidence to come to the conclusion that Ritchson went above and beyond to bring Reacher to the small screen.