With Reacher Season 2 reaching its epic conclusion on Amazon Prime Video, fans of Lee Child’s books upon which the show is based might be wondering: how tall is Jack Reacher?
In 1997, Child’s debut novel, Killing Floor, was released. It centers on Jack Reacher, a vagrant and former military commander whose commanding stature draws attention wherever he goes.
With the Jack Reacher movies and the Reacher series on Prime Video, Jack Reacher has come to life on both small and large screens. While Tom Cruise plays the title role in the films, Alan Ritchson, an actor from Blue Mountain State, is the star of Prime Video’s Reacher series.
The way that Reacher’s appearance and size are portrayed in these two versions differs greatly. It raises the question of whether actor’s height more closely matches that of Jack Reacher from the book?
How tall is Jack Reacher?
Lee Child’s books describe Jack Reacher as being 6 feet 5 inches tall.
Child also reports that Reacher weighs about 250 pounds and has blonde hair. Given that Cruise is 5 feet 7 inches tall and has black hair, many fans contend he wasn’t the ideal candidate to play the role.
In contrast, Ritchson’s casting choice was praised when Amazon Studios revealed she will be the showrunner for the resurrected series. At 6 feet 2 inches, Ritchson is only a few inches shorter than the fictional figure. Not only that, but he’s naturally blonde.
Looper claims that Ritchson put on almost thirty pounds for Season 1. “My assistant’s sole responsibility was to deliver meals to me. He compared it to a protein and smoothie conveyor belt. The actor stated in an interview with Men’s Journal that he normally weighs 205 pounds, but he had to increase that weight for the series.
Given that Reacher Season 2 takes place after a considerable amount of time has elapsed, Ritchson appears more formidable due to his increased size and heft. The Hindustan Times claims that because of Ritchson’s size and physical attributes, Child thought he “commanded” a room more.