‘Jack Reacher’ Author Calls Casting Tom Cruise a "Mistake" Due to Lack of "Physicality"

The author of ‘Jack Reacher’, Lee Child, said that it was a mistake to hire Tom Cruise in the movie adaptation since he lacked the necessary physical presence.

 In the 2012 movie ‘Jack Reacher’ and its 2016 follow-up ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’, Cruise played a former US Army military police officer.  However, because the character in the books is depicted as being 6'5", broad, and blond—quite different from Cruise's 5'7" frame—fans criticized the casting.

 Child recently discussed the third season of the ‘Reacher’ series and offered some thoughts on Cruise's performance in an interview with Metro.  He cited a scene from the Cruise-starring movies in which a detective says that Reacher is capable of killing with a single blow, implying that the scene was implausible due to Cruise's size.

The character's physicality has now been faithfully portrayed, Child said, praising Alan Ritchson, who currently plays Reacher in the series.  He believed it was essential to get it right this time around because of the criticism around Cruise's casting.

Image Courtesy: Getty Images 

 Child stressed that working with Cruise was a terrific experience, despite his misgivings about his suitability for the position. He described Cruise as smart, professional, and a wonderful friend.

Lee Child has already addressed the matter once before.  He admitted in 2022 that Reacher's intimidating bulk contributes significantly to the narrative of the books.

Reacher's third season premiered on 20th February. Up until 27th March, new episodes will be uploaded every week.  Cruise, meanwhile, recently made an appearance in a ‘Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’ Super Bowl teaser, which featured high-stakes stunts and references to previous movies in the franchise.

–Farheen Ali