Reacher star Alan Ritchson has revealed he was asked to lose 60lbs and look like a ‘heroin addict’ for a film role – having then had to bulk back up for his role in forthcoming action flick Fast X.
Over the years, Ritchson has played everything from the captain of a college football team (Blue Mountain State) and Aquaman (Smallville) to a former US Army military cop (Reacher), meaning he’s become synonymous with the sort of guy you wouldn’t mess with on screen.
That’s an image that doesn’t change with his latest role in Fast X, the 10th film in the high octane Fast and Furious franchise, which is out in cinemas today (Friday 19 May).
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"Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto (Vin Diesel) and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path," a synopsis says.
"Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they’ve ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who’s fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything - and everyone - that Dom loves, forever."
Ritchson plays Agent Aimes, the new leader of The Agency following Mr Nobody's disappearance, who isn’t the biggest fan of Dom and co.
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Speaking to LADbible ahead of the film’s release, he said his work on Reacher, where he plays the titular former US Army military cop, helped prepare him for the new gig.
“I’ve got my 10,000 hours of action on Reacher, so that translates,” he said.
But before he went behind the wheel as the burly authoritarian Aimes, Ritchson actually found himself having to slim down for another acting job.
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When asked if there was anything he did to prepare physically for the role, Ritchson replied: "What was tricky about this was I was on a film before Fast, where the director was like, ‘Can you lose like 60lbs?'”
Ritchson was asked to ‘basically look like a heroin addict’, with the star adding: "You know, just like emaciated.”
He promised to 'lose as many pounds' as he could, but wasn’t able to shed the full 60lb target.
While Ritchson did not say which film this was for, he continued: "I didn’t know about Fast while I was making that film, so I dropped 20lbs for that role, real quick.
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“And then I found out about Fast and I was like, ‘Well I don’t wanna come out looking like Skeletor!’
“So it was full on eat, workout... And I can see when I watch that film, I can see the scenes where I started to bulk up a little bit. All of a sudden I don’t look quite the same... Don’t tell anyone!"
Ritchson, whose recent credits outside of Reacher include war flick Ghosts of War and 2021's Dark Web: Cicada 3301, which served as his directorial debut, also opened up about one of his favourite scenes to shoot in Fast X, saying his character had been involved in a 360-degree car spin with Vin Diesel's Dom.
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“We were on a chassis that spun, and we didn’t go 360 [degrees], we kind of went forward and back and we sort of simulated this whole roll," he recalled.
“And we had to sell it, so the whole thing was we had to act like we were getting tossed 360 degrees, like, ‘Head back! Head forward!’
“And it felt like the most ridiculous thing in the world but it really worked in the film, it looks real traumatic. I felt like a complete idiot doing it!”
And as for what we can expect for the second season of Reacher, Ritchson promises very good things indeed.
"We shot season two and it’s amazing," he said. "I think it’s the best version of Reacher so far, but that’s all I can say."
Fast X is out in cinemas now.
Topics: Fast and Furious, TV and Film, Celebrity
Jess Hardiman