"He starts running"- When Alan Ritchson made a bold move to catch a burglar
Alan Ritchson is one of the most renowned actors in the world, thanks to his role as the titular hobo in the hit Prime Video TV series, Reacher. British author Lee Child envisioned the protagonist of his action drama novel series to be six-foot-five. Although Ritchson is three inches shorter than that, he makes it work.
When the series premiered in 2022, Reacher became everyone's favorite action hero on TV and Ritchson became an overnight star. While promoting his movie Ordinary Angels last year, he appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
In the interview dated February 17, 2024, he reflected on how he caught a burglar in Montreal, Canada while on a date with his wife. He said:
"So, this guy pulls out of this car, and he's got like four duffel bags of stuff. He starts running towards us, and I was like, 'That dude definitely just broke into that car.' We lock eyes as he passes, and I was like, 'Oh, no. He's definitely, like, an Acme villain, and I'm going to have to do something about this.'"
At one point, the burglar left the duffel bags and tried to escape. However, Ritchson refused to give up and eventually caught him. Recounting the end of the chase, he said:
"He goes to push me, and I lovingly—I love all people, I'm a pacifist at heart—gently take him like a shot put, like a discus, and I twirl him right into the building, and he just slides down like a cartoon character."
Later, Alan Ritchson met the cops as well as the owners of the car who thanked him for saving their belongings from getting stolen.
Alan Ritchson once caught a thief red-handed in a park
Catching that car burglar was not the only time Alan Ritchson channeled his inner Jack Reacher. In fact, in an interview with GQ dated February 19, 2025, he said that such things happen often. He said:
"I caught a guy red-handed in a park one time. I was working out. It was so windy that the dust off the track was blowing in my eyes, so I couldn't face one direction. I just decided to do sprints one way and stay facing that way."
He continued:
"I saw a guy come into the park, look around, and hover around my stuff: my keys, my wallet, my phone. He was about to rob me! And he did—took all my stuff. So, I just finished my sprint into the back of his head. That kind of stuff happens all the time."
Also read: "Trying to get a lot of oxygen" — When Alan Ritchson opened up about the issues he faced while gaining weight for Reacher season 3
Alan Ritchson had different career aspirations before landing Reacher
Although not as big as his character in Reacher, Alan Ritchson has spent years playing the big guy. The first of those was his debut acting role as Arthur Curry/Aquaman in The CW TV series, Smallville. He also portrayed Hank Hall/Hawk on the HBO Max series Titans.
In the aforementioned GQ interview, he said:
"I wanted to be a top comedic star. I was compared to Ryan Reynolds once. They're like, 'You're a leading man, but funny. Ryan Reynolds is the only other guy in town doing it. You can pick up all the jobs he had!'"
Lee Child and Ritchson's Reacher co-star Maria Sten vouched for him being a funny guy. Sten even revealed that most scenes they do for the series come with several blooper takes.
