This American Primeval star wanted to star in Reacher – Until the role went to Alan Ritchson

Alan Ritchson’s name has become synonymous with the word Reacher, thanks to his iconic portrayal of the titular character in the hit Prime Video series. The actor’s embodiment of the former US Army military police major has been well received by fans and critics.

However, there is another acclaimed actor who had his eyes on Jack Reacher’s role. Jai Courtney, who was recently seen in Netflix’s American Primeval, has revealed that he wanted to play Jack in the Prime Video series.

While he reached out to the creators, thinking that he would be a good fit for the role, his proposal was not accepted, and the role ultimately went to Alan Ritchson. Interestingly, Jai Courtney already had a connection with the franchise as he starred in the 2012 film Jack Reacher, which featured Tom Cruise as the titular character.

Jai Courtney wanted to play the titular role in Prime Video’s Reacher

In a recent interview with Forbes, Jai Courtney revealed that when he found out about the show being in development, he wanted to play the character of the former army major. Considering that he had already played Charlie in 2012’s Jack Reacher, he was well aware of the world, but the series creators chose to sign Alan Ritchson instead. Courtney said:

“I’ve seen the show, and I remember when that was casting, I was like, 'Wait, I'm big enough to play Jack Reacher,' and they were like, 'No, that's too close to home,' which was a bummer at the time. I never got to look in.”

Though he did not get his dream role, Courtney still has no hard feelings for the show or Alan Ritchson. Instead, the two actors are working together in Netflix’s upcoming sci-fi action film, War Machine. Praising Ritchson’s dedication to his work, Courtney said:

“Alan's great in that, and he's great in War Machine. I admire that dude and what he's doing. It's weirdly cool to see big, burly blokes getting roles because there was such a fear for a while.”

He added:

“I know we've always had iconic action stars with certain physiques, but as someone who's not small, it's nice to see dudes in dramatic roles who aren't getting pigeonholed so much. He's getting a chance to do that with a lot of the work he's setting up, so props to him.”

While playing Reacher was not in his destiny, Courtney has several other successful projects to his name. He has been seen in films like A Good Day to Die Hard, Divergent, The Suicide Squad, and, more recently, in Dangerous Animals.

His television credits include playing Bob Goodwin in Kaleidoscope and Virgil Cutter in American Primeval. Meanwhile, Reacher continues to be one of the top-rated shows on Prime Video.

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Based on Lee Child’s novel series, the show revolves around a self-proclaimed hobo who goes against tough criminals and villains every season. The lead uses his sheer strength as well as his skills to hunt down his enemies. The show has so far aired three seasons and has already been renewed for a fourth season.

For more interesting updates about Prime Video shows, keep following Soap Central.

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