Alan Ritchson
American actor (born 1982) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 10th 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 ongoing Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Reacher since 2022.
Alan Ritchson | |
|---|---|
Ritchson at GalaxyCon Richmond in Richmond, Virginia, March 2022 | |
| Born | Alan Michael Ritchson November 28, 1982[note 1] |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Spouse |
Catherine Ritchson (m. 2006) |
| Children | 3 |
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), Lazer Team (2015), 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
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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 has an older and younger brother. The family moved around due to his father's work. They lived in Guam and when he was two, his family moved to Rantoul, Illinois.[7] When he was 10, Ritchson's father was transferred to Eglin Air Force Base and the family lived in Niceville, Florida, which is nearby.[7][8] He went to Niceville High School graduating in 2001.[9]
While at school, Ritchson was interested in acting and performed in school musicals. He regarded Jim Carrey as his idol.[7] While he was still in high school, he started taking college-level music theater and dance classes.[7] From 1999 to 2001, he was a dual enrollment student at the high school and Okaloosa Walton Community College, now Northwest Florida State College in Niceville.[10] After graduating from high school, he received a full scholarship to study music and theater at the college. He was a member of the Fine Arts Division's Soundsations and Madrigal Singers.[11][12][13] However, Ritchson dropped out after two years "because [he] didn't feel fulfilled".[14] He worked at a gas station for a short time before signing with Next Management in Miami Beach, Florida to work as a model for a few years.[7]
Career
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Perspective
Modeling
During his modeling career, Ritchson worked with Bruce Weber, a photographer, for Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue in addition to being an underwear and runway model.[7][15]
Television
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 during the Hollywood round. His appearance on the show was noted for his striptease in one episode in which he charmed judge Paula Abdul during his audition.[16] He decided to stay in Los Angeles and pursue an acting career.[7]
His television acting credits include a recurring guest star role on the television series Smallville as Arthur Curry, a.k.a. Aquaman,[17] 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 an actor portrayed Aquaman in an officially licensed live-action production.[17][18] 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.[19] In 2009, he appeared on a third-season episode of Starz's Head Case in which he played a stripper. Ritchson also appeared 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).[20]
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.[21] He stayed on the show until it was cancelled after its third season in February 2012.[22] He also appeared in several 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.[23][24][25] 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.[26] In 2018, Ritchson played the recurring role of Hank Hall / Hawk in the DC Universe series Titans.[27] 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.[28]
In 2020 it was announced that Ritchson would play the role of Jack Reacher in an eponymous series on Amazon Prime.[29]
Films
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His 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 in movement for actor Ray Winstone of the title character of Beowulf.[8]
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.[30][31] 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.[32] He returned to the role of 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.[33] 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.[34] He also co-starred in it as an NSA agent.[35] The film is the first original project of Phreaker Films, a film fund run by Ritchson.[34] The rights for Dark Web: Cicada 3301 were acquired by Lionsgate in 2020,[35] who released the film digitally on March 12, 2021.[36][37] In 2022, he joined the cast of Fast X.[38]
In 2024, Ritchson appeared in Jon Gunn's drama movie Ordinary Angels, written by Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig,[39] as well as in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, an action comedy film.[40]
Other work
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 appears in a web series titled Enormous Friends with his Blue Mountain State co-star, Rob Ramsay.[41]
He supports the development of Christian films in Hollywood.[42]
Personal life
Ritchson first met his wife, Catherine, while he was taking a dance class at a college[7] and they married in 2006.[43] They lived with their three sons in Florida for years. In 2023 the couple decided to sell their home and live on the road allowing Ritchson to spend more time with his family. The family stays in Airbnbs and hotels; Catherine, a financial analyst, homeschools their sons.[44]
Ritchson has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and has spoken openly about his struggles with the condition.[45] He is a Christian and frequently discusses the significance of his Christian faith.[45] He started the YouTube channel InstaChurch, in January 2022, where he discusses his Christian convictions.[46] On April 3, 2024, The Hollywood Reporter published an interview of Ritchson in which he says that he had once been sexually assaulted by a "very famous photographer" and for this reason, he left his modeling career. He described the modeling industry as "legalized sex trafficking" for photographers.[7]
In a February 2025 with GQ, Ritchson indicated that former congressman Matt Gaetz had been a classmate of his. Ritchson called Gaetz an "adversary" and "not a good dude".[47]
Filmography
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
Film
| 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 | ||
| 2025 | The Man with the Bag † | Vince | Post-production; also producer |
| TBA | Playdate † | Jeff | Post-production |
| Motor City † | John Miller | ||
| War Machine † | TBA | ||
| Runner † | Hank Malone | Filming; also producer |
Television
| 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"[48] |
| 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 | Lead role, also executive producer |
| TBA | Neagley † | Guest star role |
Video games
- Beowulf: The Game (2007), as Beowulf (character model)
Discography
Albums
- This Is Next Time (2006)
Notes
- Though some sources state he was born in 1984,[1][2] this might be because 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
External links
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