The actor says like his character, he is a wanderer too and he even ran away from his home as a teenager. I only have respect and admiration for what Mr Cruise brought to the franchise," he says.īut there are more similarities between Alan and Reacher than just the built and physique. My job is to try and ignore anybody's pre-conceived notions about who Reacher is and bring to life the best Reacher that I see on the page.
I don't think I'm worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as him. The 39-year-old actor agrees that despite his physical stature, he has big shoes to fill but he isn't nervous. And Alan knows it's not easy to follow that. The actor played Jack Reacher in two movies (Jack Reacher and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back) that earned close to $400 million combined. Tom Cruise may be almost a foot shorter than Alan but he casts a giant shadow. I read all 24 in eight months and became the biggest Reacher fan there is," he tells us. "I began reading it during the process and at that time there were 24 books. But enough people believe that I am the right choice to get the job and I am lucky that I did."Īlan reveals that although he had heard of the Jack Reacher books, he became the 'biggest fan' in the one year period from when we first auditioned to when he landed the role. Talking about his casting as the titular character and following Tom Cruise's footsteps, Alan says, "The process was long and time-taking.