REACHER Star Alan Ritchson Chased Down a Real-Life Criminal
By Movieguide® Contributor
During a recent interview, actor Alan Ritchson recalled a time when he channeled his character Reacher and chased down a criminal who had broken into a car.
Ritchson had been out with his wife on a date when she spotted the criminal and pointed it out to her husband. Once he realized what was going on, he knew what he had to do.
“We saw somebody breaking into a car and she put it together before I did because [he] was just hanging out with glass everywhere like rummaging through somebody’s stuff and came running out with these bags,” Ritchson told Canadian news program Etalk.
“[My wife] goes, ‘I think he’s breaking into that car.’ And I was like, ‘By gosh, I think you’re right.’ And she goes, ‘Don’t.’ And I was like instant Reacher mode, and I was like, ‘Some justice has to be done here,’” he continued. “I chased that dude like four blocks until I tossed him into a building and the cops came. [My wife] was very, very mad at me for – for not just taking her on a date. You know, we got there eventually. You don’t wanna see that.”
@etalkctv Turns out Alan Ritchson is the real-life version of Jack Reacher! 🫢 The star of ‘Reacher’ told us about stopping a real-life robbery in Montréal while on a date with his wife. 👏 #Reacher #AlanRitchson #JackReacher #storytime #interview #DateNight #Montreal
Though the criminal may have been frustrated that he was apprehended by Ritchson’s heroics, he can be thankful that he didn’t come face to face with the real Reacher. The veteran police detective is known for his morally ambiguous actions and may have been much rougher with the criminal if he had come across his path.
While REACHER is a violent show, Ritchson believes that it, and his other non-Christian roles, can bring viewers closer to Christ when they approach with the correct lens.
Movieguide® praised Season 2, episode 5, for its strong Christian worldview:
Episode Five of REACHER: Season Two is an exciting, slam-bang episode. Season Two is one of the more gripping action series available on the major streaming outlets. Best of all, Episode Five has strong Christian, pro-family, patriotic values and overt references to resurrection and eternal life through Jesus. The best scenes, which are extremely moving and uplifting, are smack dab in the middle of Episode Five. However, MOVIEGUIDE® advises extreme caution because of strong foul language and intense violence involving ruthless, murderous terrorists in Episode Five of REACHER: Season Two.
Like every character in the Bible apart from Jesus, Ritchson plays imperfect characters whose redeeming qualities offer things for any viewer to learn from.
Movieguide® previously reported:
After facing backlash for playing the titular character in REACHER, Alan Ritchson explains how he takes on non-Christian roles to spread the Gospel.
“I love playing Reacher. I love telling this story. I love playing a character who creates a kind of moral ambiguity that we should struggle against as we consider whether or not what he’s doing is good all the time or morally right,” Ritchson said in a YouTube video.
“A lot of people, supposed Christians especially, criticize me for playing Reacher as if the only TV that should exist is seeing people silently folding their hands in the pew of a church. I mean, what kinds of stories are we supposed to tell?” he continued. “If we look at scripture, what do you find? You see a thousand years of an infinitely holy God holding tension with human beings as He tells the story of who He is.”
“[God] reveals who He is through an imperfect people, so we get stories of paganism and war and bloodshed and ghost stories, mysticism,” he explained. “We see miracles and magic; we see life and resurrection and death; and we see this incredible canvas where God is completely unafraid to tell the story of who He is through less than morally ambiguous characters: through pure evil sometimes.”
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