Jack Reacher author admits issues with Tom Cruise casting in films prior to Prime Video series

The author behind the Jack Reacher novels, Lee Child, has been increasingly candid about the casting that troubled book fans for years: Tom Cruise as the towering ex-military drifter in two films, before Prime Video recast the role with the far taller Alan Ritchson.

Fans of the novels will know that Reacher is a physically imposing figure, standing at 6ft 5 inches tall and weighing roughly 250 lb, a build that is central to how he dominates and intimidates those around him.

Cruise, by contrast, is around 5ft 7 inches, a mismatched height from the books that drew almost instant criticism from readers when he took the role in 2012's Jack Reacher and its 2016 sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.

Child initially defended the choice, arguing that Cruise captured the essence of the character even without the physical stature, and pointing out that few Hollywood stars matched Reacher's frame. Over time, though, the author has appeared to come round to fans' complaints.

Speaking to Collider about Cruise's casting, the writer admitted: "Obviously, he was completely and utterly wrong for the character. I thought, as an actor, he captured the internals pretty well — the silent characteristic and so on. I thought internally he did really well, but externally it didn’t work."

He went on: "There’s a line in that first movie where the cop goes to the motel desk and basically says, ‘I’m looking for a guy who could kill somebody with one blow,’ and the clerk says, ‘Oh, room 12,’ and Tom Cruise comes out. You know, not really."

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Reflecting on why book readers never quite accepted Cruise, Child acknowledged that the actor's size undercut a defining part of the character. As he put it, Reacher "is huge, he's implacable, he's scary," adding that "for all Tom's ability in getting the internals of Reacher out, he is not huge and he's not scary."

Crucially, Child has been careful to separate the casting question from Cruise himself, praising his ability as an actor and his commitment to the role even while conceding the physical fit was wrong.

And it's a good thing that Child and others took another chance on adapting the IP, rebooting Reacher for television and casting Ritchson in the leading role.

The Prime Video series has since become one of the streamer's biggest action hits, cementing Ritchson's version as the definitive screen Reacher for many fans and essentially vindicating the author's change of heart.

Attention has now turned to Reacher season 5, which will be based on Child's 20th Reacher book, Make Me, which was first released in 2015.

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