Tom Cruise is one of the most well-cast actors in Hollywood history. It’s hard to imagine the Mission: Impossible franchise continuing once he’s decided he’s hung from his last airplane; he’s incredible as a misogynist motivational speaker in Magnolia; and his villainous turn in Collateral deserved an Oscar. But one of the few exceptions to Cruise picking the right role is Jack Reacher. He was the wrong person — and the wrong height — to play the character in 2012’s Jack Reacher and in 2016’s Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
Even Lee Child, the author of the Jack Reacher book series, has said as much.
“Cruise, for all his talent, didn’t have that physicality,” he shared in 2018 (Cruise is 5′ 7″; Reacher is 6′ 5″). “I really enjoyed working with Cruise. He’s a really, really nice guy… But ultimately the readers are right. The size of Reacher is really, really important and it’s a big component of who he is. The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you’re all a little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all his talent, didn’t have that physicality.”
That being said! The Reacher movies are pretty fun. If you’ve only seen Prime Video’s kick-ass Reacher series, starring height-appropriate Alan Ritchson, they’re worth a watch, especially since they’re now both streaming on Netflix.
You can watch Jack Reacher here and Jack Reacher: Never Go Back here. As for Reacher, season 3 (featuring the world’s tallest actor and bodybuilder) will premiere on Prime Video in 2025.
