Alan Ritchson reveals he auditioned for Thor but lost the part since he did not take it seriously

Last Updated on March 5, 2024

Reacher‘s Alan Ritchson has soared to fame since getting cast in the Prime Video series based on the Lee Child crime novels. The actor has been gaining even more notoriety as he boasts an even bigger physique this season and has displayed a comic book-accurate superhero physique that prompted fans to consider him to get cast as a new Batman. While Batman could still be a possibility, one superhero role he had unfortunately missed out on was Thor, which now is synonymous with Chris Hemsworth. According to Variety, Ritchson had auditioned for the 2011 film Thor as the Marvel Cinematic Universe started moving their shared universe train.

Ritchson admits he was banking on his looks and thought his appearance was enough to land him the lead role in the Kenneth Branagh-directed MCU movie. The Reacher star explained, “I didn’t take it seriously. I was like, ‘They’ll throw me the part if I look like the guy; nobody really cares about acting.’” The casting people for the film would show him otherwise as they told his reps that, although he had a great look, he didn’t have “the craft” down. Chris Hemsworth ultimately got the role, and Ritchson’s career path would take a different trajectory. At that point in his career, Ritchson had appeared as a superhero, playing Aquaman in Smallville and he would go on to be in a big franchise as he did the voice and motion capture for Raphael in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and its sequel, which he professes were both nightmares to make.

Ritchson would eventually land a comedic part in his breakout role as Thad Castle in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State. He also assumed after Blue Mountain State premiered “that there would be a cornucopia of comedies for me to choose from,” but he admits he was not receiving offers. Flash forward to the success of the show Reacher and Ritchson says, “I had about 50 offers the weekend after Season 1 of Reacher opened. I knew my life had changed.” He has since appeared in movies like Fast X and will be starring in the upcoming Guy Ritchie film, The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare.