Alan Ritchson

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Alan Ritchson
Ritchson in 2022
Born
Alan Michael Ritchson

(1982-11-28) November 28, 1982 (age 41)[note 1]
Grand Forks, North Dakota, U.S.
Education
OccupationActor
Years active2003–present

Alan Michael Ritchson (born November 28, 1982[note 1]) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Aquaman / Arthur Curry on The CW superhero series Smallville (2005–2010), where he appeared as a guest star between the fifth and tenth seasons. Ritchson had a starring role in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State (2010–2012), a role he reprised in the 2016 film sequel. He also headlined the SyFy action series Blood Drive (2017), and returned to superhero television as Hank Hall / Hawk on the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans from 2018 to 2021. He gained wider recognition for portraying the title character in the Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Reacher since 2022.

Outside television, Ritchson played Raphael in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot and its 2016 sequel, along with appearances in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) and Fast X (2023). He made his directorial debut and co-starred in the action-comedy Dark Web: Cicada 3301 (2021).

Early life and education[edit]

Ritchson was born on November 28, 1982,[5] in Grand Forks, North Dakota. He is the son of Vickie Ritchson, a high school teacher, and David Ritchson, a retired U.S. Air Force chief master sergeant.[6] He is the second of three sons. During his childhood, his family moved to Rantoul, Illinois. At age 10, Ritchson's family settled in Niceville, Florida.[7] He attended Niceville High School and graduated in 2001.[8]

He was granted a full music scholarship for singing, and started to attend college but dropped out "because [he] didn't feel fulfilled". He then went to Los Angeles, where he worked as a model for a few years.[9]

From 1999 to 2003, he attended Okaloosa Walton Community College, now Northwest Florida State College, as a dual-enrollment student and then graduated with an Associate of Arts degree.[10] He was a member of the Fine Arts Division's Soundsations and Madrigal Singers.[11][12][13]

Career[edit]

Modeling[edit]

He began his modeling career in the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue.[14]

Television[edit]

Ritchson (left) with Alex O'Loughlin in the television series Hawaii Five-0 in 2013

Ritchson first gained celebrity status in 2004 when he appeared on American Idol as one of the top 87 contestants in the third season before being cut in Hollywood. His appearance on the show was noted for his striptease in one episode in which he charmed judge Paula Abdul during his audition.[15]

His television acting credits include a recurring guest star role on the television series Smallville as Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman,[16] a small role as an army officer in the 2006 Hallmark Channel movie Though None Go with Me alongside Cheryl Ladd, and the role of Lucian Manet in the 2009 Lifetime original film Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou. His role in Smallville marked the first time that an actor portrayed Aquaman in an officially licensed live-action production.[16][17] His Smallville co-star, Justin Hartley, has since portrayed Aquaman in an unaired pilot of the same name. Ritchson reprised his role as Aquaman in the final season.[18] In 2009, he appeared on a third-season episode of Starz's Head Case in which he played a stripper. Ritchson also made an appearance on CSI: Miami, in which he played a dead victim in episode 19 of season 8. In 2011, he appeared in an episode of season 3 of 90210 as a love interest for main character Teddy Montgomery (Trevor Donovan).[19]

In 2010 he started playing the main role of Thad Castle, the captain of a college football team, in Spike TV's Blue Mountain State.[20] He stayed on the show until it was cancelled after its third season in February 2012.[21] He also appeared in a number of television shows, including Hawaii Five-0. In 2015, Ritchson became a regular on the NBC variety show I Can Do That (based on the Israeli variety show) alongside Nicole Scherzinger, Ciara, Joe Jonas, Cheryl Burke and Jeff Dye, and hosted by Marlon Wayans.[22][23][24] In 2016, he appeared in "Nosedive", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.

In 2017 he played the main character in the Syfy series Blood Drive.[25] In 2018, Ritchson played the recurring role of Hank Hall / Hawk in the DC Universe series Titans.[26] His initial deal was for just two episodes but he was promoted to a series regular for the second season. Producers decided to reduce the number of characters and Ritchson was written out of the series.[27]

In 2020 Ritchson was announced to be portraying Jack Reacher in an eponymous series on Amazon Prime.[28]

Films[edit]

Alan Ritchson at the Lazer Team premiere with the cast and director in 2015

Movie credits include a role in the 2006 film The Butcher, as well as a minor role in 2009's Fired Up! In 2007, director Robert Zemeckis used Ritchson for his facial image, physique and movement for actor Ray Winstone of the title character of Beowulf.[7]

Ritchson portrayed Gloss, a tribute in the 75th Hunger Games, in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013). Ritchson also portrayed Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a reboot to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series after the four previous films.[29][30] Ritchson would later criticize producers of the new TMNT live-action films, claiming they mistreated him and other actors portraying the turtles during and after filming.[31]

He returned to his role as Thad Castle in the Blue Mountain State movie, Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland. Ritchson co-starred in Rooster Teeth Production's first feature-length movie—the science fiction comedy Lazer Team in January 2016.[32] He also played a medium role in The Wedding Ringer.

In 2018 Ritchson was announced as the director, co-writer, and producer of Dark Web: Cicada 3301, a comedy-thriller film inspired by the eponymous organization.[33] He also co-starred as an NSA agent.[34] The film is the first original project of Phreaker Films, a film fund run by Ritchson.[33] The rights for Dark Web: Cicada 3301 were acquired by Lionsgate in 2020,[34] who released the film digitally on March 12, 2021.[35][36] In 2022, Ritchson joined the cast of Fast X.[37]

In 2024, Ritchson appeared in Jon Gunn's drama movie Ordinary Angels, written by Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig.[citation needed]

Other work[edit]

Other projects include an independent album called This Is Next Time, released in late 2005, and appearing in a Russian commercial for Orbit gum.[citation needed]

Ritchson also appears in a web series entitled, Enormous Friends with his Blue Mountain State co-star, Rob Ramsay.[38]

He supports the development of Christian films in Hollywood.[39]

Personal life[edit]

Ritchson lived for years in his native Florida with his wife Catherine and their three sons. In 2023 the couple decided to sell their home and live on the road, to allow Ritchson to spend more time with his family. The family stays in Airbnbs and hotels; his wife, a financial analyst, homeschools their sons.[40]

Ritchson has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, and has spoken openly about his struggles with the condition.[41]

Ritchson is a professing Christian, and frequently discusses the significance of his Christian faith.[41] He started the YouTube channel InstaChurch, in January 2022, where he discusses his Christian convictions.[42]

On April 3, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter published an interview of Ritchson in which he says that he had once been sexually harassed by a "very famous photographer".[43]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2006 The Butcher Mark
2007 Steam Roy
2008 Rex Chase
2009 Fired Up! Bruce
2013 The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Gloss
2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raphael
2015 The Wedding Ringer Kip Loyola / Carew
2016 Lazer Team Adam
Blue Mountain State: The Rise of Thadland Thad Castle Also producer and writer
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Raphael
2018 Office Uprising Bob
2019 Above the Shadows Shayne
The Turkey Bowl Ronnie Best Also executive producer
2020 Ghosts of War Butchie
2021 Dark Web: Cicada 3301 Agent Carver Directorial debut and producer, writer
2023 Fast X Agent Aimes
2024 Ordinary Angels Ed Schmitt
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare† Anders Lassen Post-production

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2004 American Idol Himself Episode 3.1
2005–2010 Smallville Arthur Curry / Aquaman 4 episodes
2006 Though None Go with Me Army officer Television film
2009 Head Case N/A Episode: "Tying the... Not"
Midnight Bayou Lucian Manet Television film
2010–2011 Blue Mountain State Kevin Devlin "Thad" Castle Main role
2010 CSI: Miami Paul Arnett Episode: "Spring Breakdown"
2011 90210 Tripp Wilson Episode: "The Enchanted Donkey"
2012 Fred: The Show Expired Cow Episode: "Expired Cow"
2013 Hawaii Five-0 Freddie Hart Episode: "Olelo Paʻa"
2014 The Rebels Tyler Stokley Episode: "Pilot"
New Girl Matt Episode: "Micro"
Infomercials Kent Ross Episode: "Alpha Chow"
2015 I Can Do That Himself Contestant
Workaholics Troy Torpey Episode: "Speedo Racer"
2016 Black Mirror Paul Episode: "Nosedive"
2017 Blood Drive Arthur Bailey Main role
2018–2021 Titans Hank Hall / Hawk Recurring role (season 1); main role (seasons 2–3)
2018 Alexa & Katie Robbie Episode: "Thanksgiving"
2019 Brooklyn Nine-Nine Young Norm Scully Episode: "Hitchcock & Scully"
Supergirl Hank Hall / Hawk Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part One"
2020 Legends of Tomorrow Episode: "Crisis on Infinite Earths, Part 5"
2022–present Reacher Jack Reacher Main role

Video games[edit]

Discography[edit]

Albums

  • This Is Next Time (2006)

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Though some sources state he was born in 1984,[1][2] this might be due to the fact that Ritchson's age was given as 20 when he auditioned for American Idol's third season in early 2004.[3] But the show was filmed several months prior, with auditions being held in August and September 2003. Ritchson states he was 39 years old in a February 2022 interview with Michael Rosenbaum,[4] he graduated in 2001, and several sources confirm the November 28, 1982, birth date.[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Ritchson, Alan, 1984-". Library of Congress. Retrieved November 23, 2023.
  2. ^ "Alan Ritchson". All Movie. Retrieved November 23, 2023. Born - Nov 28, 1984
  3. ^ iHollywoodTV (August 16, 2023). "'Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson Auditioned For American Idol". Event occurs at 2:28. Archived from the original on November 23, 2023 – via YouTube.
  4. ^ Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum (February 8, 2022). "Reacher's ALAN RITCHSON: Finding Your Identity". Event occurs at 5:50 – via YouTube. I'm 39 now.
  5. ^ a b "UPI Almanac for Sunday, Nov. 28, 2021". UPI. November 28, 2021. Retrieved November 23, 2023. actor Alan Ritchson in 1982 (age 39)
  6. ^ Ricketts, Dusty (April 14, 2013). "Niceville's Alan Ritchson to appear on 'Hawaii Five-0'". Northwest Florida Daily News. Archived from the original on November 27, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013.
  7. ^ a b "Rising Star Alan Ritchson: From Abercrombie to Aquaman". Netscape Celebrity. Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  8. ^ "Alan Ritchson News & Biography - Empire". Empire. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  9. ^ Liem, Ronald (December 1, 2013). "Exclusive Cover Story: Alan Ritchson". Da Man. Archived from the original on September 21, 2014. Retrieved October 14, 2014.
  10. ^ Niceville (May 15, 2014). "Actor Alan Ritchson, college alum, visits NWFSC in Niceville". Niceville.com. Retrieved April 2, 2024.
  11. ^ "Working ShowBiz - Featuring Alan Ritchson". Emerald Coast TV. May 13, 2014. Archived from the original on July 10, 2015. Retrieved May 14, 2014.
  12. ^ Delgado, Lauren (May 14, 2014). "'Hunger Games' actor tells NWFSC students: 'We are our own personal marketing force'". Northwest Florida Daily News. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved May 15, 2014.
  13. ^ "Actor Alan Ritchson, College Alum, Visits Campus". Mattie Kelly Arts Center. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on November 20, 2014. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  14. ^ Cooke, Bruno (February 6, 2022). "Alan Ritchson's first modelling gig was in the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue". The Focus. Archived from the original on February 22, 2022. Retrieved February 22, 2022.
  15. ^ Oldenburg, Ann (August 9, 2012). "'Hunger Games' casts hunky Alan Ritchson for Gloss role". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 10, 2015. Retrieved April 6, 2014.
  16. ^ a b Byrne, Craig (October 20, 2005). "American Tidal: KryptonSite Speaks With Alan Ritchson (Aquaman)". KryptonSite. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  17. ^ "Aquaman (TV 1984)". IMDb. May 1, 2009. Archived from the original on June 6, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  18. ^ Abrams, Natalie (September 7, 2010). "Aquaman Returns to Smallville". TVGuide.com. Archived from the original on July 31, 2012. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  19. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (January 13, 2011). "90210 Exclusive: Teddy Hooks Up With Aquaman!". TVLine. PMC. Archived from the original on September 3, 2013. Retrieved October 27, 2014.
  20. ^ "Sam Jones and Alan Ritchson will be on Spike this summer in new college football comedy". OSCK. June 12, 2009. Archived from the original on September 27, 2013. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  21. ^ Vlessing, Etan (February 21, 2012). "Lionsgate's 'Blue Mountain State' Cancelled by Spike". Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on May 7, 2021. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  22. ^ Rice, Lynette (March 3, 2015). "Ciara, Nicole Scherzinger, Joe Jonas, Cheryl Burke Join NBC Variety Show". People. Archived from the original on May 28, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  23. ^ Roxborough, Scott (May 26, 2015). "Armoza Betting on Game Show/Variety Revival With NBC's 'I Can Do That!'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 16, 2020. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  24. ^ Steinberg, Jessica (April 8, 2015). "NBC to air 'I Can Do That' in late May". The Times of Israel. Archived from the original on May 30, 2015. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  25. ^ Sokol, Tony (June 12, 2017). "Syfy's Blood Drive: Star Alan Ritchson On Stunt Driving and Outlandish Grindhouse". Den of Geek!. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  26. ^ Drum, Nicole (October 8, 2018). "'Titans' Alan Ritchson Says It Takes Eight People to Get Him in Hawk Costume". Comicbook. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  27. ^ Agard, Chancellor (September 23, 2021). "Titans star on character's 'beautiful' exit: 'The decision was made for me, and it was for the best'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 23, 2021. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  28. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (September 4, 2020). "'Jack Reacher': Alan Ritchson Cast As Title Character In Amazon TV Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 4, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  29. ^ Fernández, Alexia (November 18, 2019). "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Actor Says Making Reboots Was 'the Worst Production Experience'". People. Archived from the original on November 19, 2019. Retrieved November 19, 2019.
  30. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (March 22, 2013). "'Hunger Games 2's Alan Ritchson To Play Raphael In 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'". Deadline. Archived from the original on July 1, 2014. Retrieved February 19, 2020.
  31. ^ Collider Podcasts (November 14, 2019). "Why Alan Ritchson HATED Filming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  32. ^ Doty, Meriah (March 16, 2015). "Crowd-Funded 'Lazer Team' May Sneak Up and Zap You (Exclusive Trailer)". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
  33. ^ a b Hipes, Patrick (March 6, 2018). "Phreaker Films Launches With Silicon Valley VC Cash; Alan Ritchson To Run It". Deadline. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved October 14, 2019.
  34. ^ a b Ramos, Dino-Ray (September 10, 2020). "Grindstone Acquires Alan Ritchson's Comedy-Thriller 'Cicada 3301'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved September 10, 2020.
  35. ^ Adams, Tim (January 13, 2021). "Dark Web: Cicada 3301 Red-Band Trailer Recruits Titans Stars (Exclusive)". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  36. ^ Price, Jason (January 14, 2021). "'Dark Web: Cicada 3301' - Cyber-Thriller Starring Alan Ritchson Hits Digital and On Demand March 12!". Icon Vs. Icon. Archived from the original on January 28, 2021. Retrieved January 28, 2021.
  37. ^ Kroll, Justin (May 13, 2022). "'Fast X': 'Jack Reacher' Star Alan Ritchson Joins Next Installment In 'Fast & Furious' Franchise". Deadline. Archived from the original on May 13, 2022. Retrieved May 20, 2023.
  38. ^ Alan and Rob. "Enormous Friends". YouTube. Archived from the original on August 27, 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  39. ^ "'Reacher' Actor Alan Ritchson Wants the 'Name of Christ in Movie Theaters'". ChristianHeadlines.com. Archived from the original on November 6, 2023. Retrieved November 6, 2023.
  40. ^ Myers, Marc (December 26, 2023). "Getting Cut From 'American Idol' Was the Best Thing to Happen to Alan Ritchson's Acting Career". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved December 27, 2023.
  41. ^ a b Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum on YouTube
  42. ^ Warren, Steve (April 18, 2023). "'Reacher', 'Hunger Games' Actor Alan Ritchson Stands for Movies That Honor 'the Name of Christ'". Retrieved January 10, 2024.
  43. ^ Gardner, Chris (April 3, 2024). "The High Highs and Low Lows of Alan Ritchson". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved April 4, 2024.

External links[edit]

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