From Niceville to Jack Reacher: Alan Ritchson reflects on his early life, faith and career

When you think of up-and-coming action stars, first on many people's minds might be Niceville High School graduate Alan Ritchson.

Ritchson, 41, is the star of the Prime Video original series "Reacher," which follows a former military police investigator as he gets drawn into mayhem and murder investigations. Season two premiered Dec. 15. He's worked in other big-name titles, too, including "Smallville" and "Blue Mountain State."

A military child who was born in North Dakota and partially raised in Illinois, Ritchson found his way to Niceville at the age of 10. But who is Ritchson and what led him to a successful career in acting?

In an interview with the Nortwest Florida Daily News, he discussed his early influences, his faith, his career and what you might see from him in the future.

Early years

Born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, Ritchson is the son of Vickie and David Ritchson. His mother was a high school teacher and his father a U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant, now retired.

Spending his early childhood in Rantoul, Illinois, the local military installation, Chanute Air Force Base, was closing. Ritchson was in fourth grade at the time, and little by little, friends of his started to move away.

"We were one of the last to be stationed somewhere else," Ritchson said. "It was becoming a ghost town as we were leaving. So, I was really looking forward to something new and more vibrant."

The pivotal moment came during a family meeting when his parents presented him and his two brothers with two options: California, with its "earthquakes, scary earthquakes," or Florida, with its "beaches, sunshine and dolphins." The allure of the beach won, and the Ritchson family moved to Niceville when he was 10. A place where he felt "right at home."

"I was athletic; I played baseball and that was a language that I spoke that really connected us to a lot of friends quickly," Ritchson said. "Niceville is an idyllic town, you know. There's low crime, there's a lot of love for the arts and it's fed by the biggest air force base in the world. There's just a lot of diversity, the athletic programs are some of the best in the nation. I think being fed by the military, you get some of the best and brightest there. It leaves an indelible mark. That's something I'm nostalgic about quite often."

Rising above

Several people who remembered Ritchson from Niceville High School told the Daily News said he was charismatic, overwhelmingly nice and had the ability to be friends with anyone.

"I think there's a confluence of things," Ritchson said. "Moving around so much in the military made me a bit of a chameleon. I think ... the moving around necessitated a lot of those survival mechanisms.

"I was also raised in a Christian home, and faith was very important to us," he added. "We were taught to leave a place better than you found it, and that includes community."

Ritchson recalled two experiences that shaped his ethos and how he lives in life. The first incident occurred in seventh grade when a rash consumed more than 50% of his face that lasted for about six months.

"I remember walking down the hallway and girls would just jump out of the way and scream 'monster,'" Ritchson said.

Later, at Niceville High, a tumor that developed on his chin led to the same name-calling.

"There were several months of those very formative years dealing with things that were horribly painful and realizing people will wreck you over things that you can't help," Ritchson said. "I swore never to treat anybody like that or make anyone feel less than because they have something like that they're dealing with.

Biggest inspirations

Ritchson credits the foundation of his artistic development to two teachers at Niceville High: chorus teacher Michael Dye and debate teacher Marilynn McGill.

"I was driven pretty hard by these people because I think they saw something, a lot of potential," he reflected.

McGill, who also taught forensics, played a pivotal role in Ritchson's high school journey. Forensics, as Ritchson described it, was a competitive debate format. A student would be placed in a room in front of a panel of judges, usually made up of his peers. During that time, a student would have to "transition" between 10 or so different characters in a play in a certain amount of time.

"It's a really interesting exercise," Ritchson said. "It helps me understand how quickly one can access different emotional banks, different physicalites and how quick turns can be. If somebody is very good at it, you won't feel like you're watching a one person play."

As for Dye, he helped develop Ritchson's first passion in life: singing. While admitting that his singing ability is something that he does not use currently, he said that his work is very melodic in a way.

"The nature of line reads, expressing yourself; the scene work is very musical to me. Ritchson said. "I hear it in that way, and I think that's informed my work in a very roundabout way. I spent a lot of time doing things in high school that I never thought I'd directly use again, but I think that has informed me in some way today."

Before "Reacher"

Ritchson graduated from Okaloosa-Walton Community College (now known as Northwest Florida State College) with an associate degree in 2003. But it would be a year before he stepped foot in Los Angeles for the first time. That was when he auditioned for season three of "American Idol" and was one of the final 117 contestants out of the 80,000 who auditioned.

A year later, Ritchson landed a small role on the hit TV show "Smallville," playing the role of Arthur Curry/Aquaman. It would take another five years until Ritchson landed his next big role as Kevin "Thad" Castle' in the Spike TV show "Blue Mountain State."

In 2013, Ritchson's film career gained traction with his role as Gloss in "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire." He also lent his voice to Raphael in two "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" movies. In 2021, Ritchson made his directorial and writing debut with the film "Dark Web: Cicada 3301."

Difficulties of playing "Reacher"

With the success of "Reacher" on Prime, online discussions about the show often suggest Ritchson is the ideal casting choice for the character that was envisioned by author Lee Child when the first book was published in 1997.

Described in the books as 6 foot 5, with a 50-inch chest and weighing 250 pounds, Ritchson's portrayal has led many to believe that he was "born" to play this role. While flattered, Ritchson remains contemplative about the casting.

"I don't think I can ever answer that," he said. "You know, the way I approach the character and the work that I have to do, it's a really interesting relationship I have with Reacher.

"It's one I have great respect for, and I tread very carefully around," he added. "So, I can never stop and relish on how perfect this casting is. I never feel like I have him quite right, and I'm always working out of great respect (of him).

"If people feel that way, if audiences feel that way, I would accommodate that. You know, it gives me great satisfaction, but I don't ever feel like I quite have him nailed. He's a difficult character to understand. He's so different from me in the way that most of us operate. I can't let my guard down (as Reacher); I can't sit and rest on my laurels and say, 'I've got it figured out.'

"He's much more complex, but if people that are watching feel like 'he's nailed it', that is great."

Future Work

Ritchson is currently filming season three of "Reacher," but there are other projects that he is involved with that fans can see soon.

On Dec. 12, it was announced that his production company, AllyCat Entertainment, has closed on a multiyear first-look film deal with Amazon MGM Studios. With the deal, Amazon MGM Studios will have the first opportunity to look at projects his company intends to produce.

As for upcoming work, he will star with Hilary Swank in a drama called "Ordinary Angels," which will debut in cinemas on Feb. 23.

Ritchson also recently wrapped production on a leading role in a Guy Ritchie World War II film called "The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare," set to release sometime in 2024. Sometime in the future, Ritchson will also reprise his role as Aimes in the untitled 11th film in the "Fast and Furious" franchise.

Reflections of Niceville

Ritchson lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Catherine, and three children. With Ritchson's parents and in-laws still living in the area, he said he comes back to Niceville frequently.

"My heart will always be in Niceville," Ritchson said. "That part of me was so formative and still to this day, it makes a lot of decisions for me. But I would say the amount of help and encouragement that I get from that community is great.

"I think sometimes people refer to Niceville as like a laughably small, idyllic kind of pleasant town, you know, and I think it's anything but. I think it's a town bursting with potential. There are young men and women who are coming up in the area who have all the makings of being world changers in doing tremendous things.

"I think we need to believe that just because people come from Niceville, it doesn't limit them in any way there. There was so much potential coming out of that area in the '90s, we should look for it and harness it and say kind things the way that people did to me.

"Watch just how much greatness can grow up out of that area and spread their wings and make the world a better place for the rest of us."

How to watch

The first three episodes of "Reacher" season two began streaming Dec. 15 on Prime Video. Two more are expected to stream this month, with the final three episodes of the eight-show season appearing in January, according to media reports.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: How Niceville High School grad Alan Ritchson became Jack Reacher