Jack Reacher author weighs in after fans SLAMMED Tom Cruise as main character

Jack Reacher author Lee Child has opened up about why book readers were 'right' to take issue with Tom Cruise playing the main character in the film adaptation. The Hollywood heavyweight, 62, starred as the beloved action hero in two films: Jack Reacher in 2012 and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in 2016. However, unlike many of his other projects, the films didn't sit well with the audience due to the fact the 5ft 7in actor did not match the book description of the character.

Indeed, the book describes Jack Reacher as 'extremely tall' with a height of 6ft 5in. Meanwhile, other descriptions note that he is 'extremely broad, long-armed and long-legged.'. Speaking recently to The Independent about the backlash to Cruise's casting, Child admitted that 'the readers, ultimately, were right' in their views. 'I thought the first movie in particular was excellent,' the author noted. 'It was a really crisp hard-edged thriller.

'Working with Tom was a pleasure and a privilege – he's a really smart guy, he's a smart filmmaker, he's real fun.'. Jack Reacher author Lee Child has opened up about why book readers were 'right' to take issue with Tom Cruise playing the main character in the film adaptation. Speaking about the backlash to Cruise's casting at the time, Child admitted that 'the readers, ultimately, were right' in their views.

However, he continued: 'But you cannot escape the fact that Reacher is a huge guy. I mean, that is a component in his entire approach to the world and the world's approach to him. 'He's huge, he's implacable, he's scary, and for all Tom's ability in getting the internals of Reacher out, he is not huge and he's not scary.'. Child added: 'So the readers were terribly upset about it and I think, ultimately, the readers were right.'.

Luckily for book fans, the role was taken over by actor Alan Ritchson when the story was brought to life as an Amazon Prime Video series. First airing in February 2022, the show has been a success with fans and critics alike. According to the author, 'Alan was born to play Reacher and I think he knows that.'. The 6ft 3in actor actor previously revealed that he had to pack on 30 pounds of muscle to star in Reacher.

'I was 205lbs when I got cast,' he recalled on The Rich Eisen Show. 'I was scraggly, scrawny. I thought I was big. I was always playing superheroes. I look back at those photos now, and I'm like, "Oh my God, I look like a kid, like a marathon runner."'. The Hollywood heavyweight starred as the beloved action hero in two films: Jack Reacher in 2012 and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back in 2016. The films didn't quite sit well with the audience due to the fact the 5ft 7in actor did not match the book description of the 6ft 5in character (pictured with co-star Rosamund Pike).

Ritchson said the studio mandated that he needed to be at least 235 pounds when he showed up on set to start filming the first season of the series in 2021. 'I had eight months to do it. I built a gym in my house, and I worked my a** off,' he explained. 'You cannot believe how hard I worked every day, like my life depended on it.'. The Fast X star logged in an hour or two in his home gym a day and constantly ate to put on 30 pounds of muscle.

'And I did it without any help — no steroids, no testosterone, nothing,' he added. 'Just hard work. But it also killed me.'. Jack Reacher from 2012 made $80 million domestic and $218.3 million worldwide from a $60 million budget, and 2016's Jack Reacher: Never Look Back made $58.6 million domestic and $162.1 million worldwide from a $60 million budget. The novel series, which spans 24 books written by Child, follows the title character, a decorated military veteran who lives a nomadic life while working as a freelance private investigator.

The books have sold over 100 million copies worldwide and have been translated into 49 languages. Luckily for book fans, the role was taken over by actor Alan Ritchson when the story was brought to life as an Amazon Prime Video series. The 6ft 3in actor actor previously revealed that he had to pack on 30 pounds of muscle to star in Reacher. In a previous interview, Child admitted he was initially planning on concluding the series with Reacher's 'brutal killing.'.

'Initially I had the idea that in the last book, he would die in a blaze of glory or noble self-sacrifice, he noted. 'It would have been difficult to plot, because he's a very capable guy, but there would have been some situation where he's either got to give up the person he's protecting or give up himself, and obviously he'll give up himself and bleed out on some filthy motel bathroom floor.'. He even had the title, 'Die Lonely,' for the book that never was.