‘Reacher’ Star Alan Ritchson Went to School With Matt Gaetz and Is Not a Fan: “We’re Adversaries”
Alan Ritchson is a rare breed in Hollywood.
The refreshingly honest A-list action star is unafraid to get candid on everything from his winding journey in Hollywood to his views on politics, religion and the hard work it takes to get to the top. A new profile in GQ offers more of the same as Ritchson opens up on all of the above ahead of Reacher‘s season three debut Thursday.
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The comments generating the most traction online happen to be about controversial politician Matt Gaetz, someone Ritchson went to school with while growing up in Florida. “That motherfucker. We are adversaries,” Ritchson told GQ writer Matthew Roberson. “It’s shocking to me that the panhandle of Florida continues to vote for somebody — knowing everything we know about him and the promises that he’s made behind closed doors about pardoning certain criminals — he’s just not a good dude!”
Gaetz was accused of child sex trafficking and statutory rape in 2020, but following an investigation, the U.S. Department of Justice opted not to charge him. Four years later, in December 2024, the House Ethics Committee released a report which found evidence that Gaetz had paid for sex and abused illegal drugs during his tenure in the U.S. House of Representatives. One of those instances of sexual relations was allegedly with a woman who was 17.
Ritchson told Roberson that he considered a segue into politics just to clean up the corners. “There’s part of me that wants to get into politics to outdo somebody like him for good, and there’s part of me that’s like, I’m not duplicitous enough to succeed in politics. There are certain people that do a good job of staying true to who they are, but they’re ineffective. I think Bernie Sanders is a hero. But it’s like, what has he accomplished?” he questioned.
Ritchson has been an overachiever since breaking out as Jack Reacher on the Prime Video juggernaut. He’s had only handfuls of days off over the past several years in between projects including three seasons of Reacher, Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, Ordinary Angels opposite Hilary Swank, Luke Greenfield’s Playdate with Kevin James, the actioner War Machine from Patrick Hughes and the Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer The Man With the Bag for Adam Shankman.
Reacher remains his beloved home base. The show is based on the iconic Jack Reacher book series, created by Lee Child. The British author had plenty of compliments about Ritchson for GQ. “The title character in a big show like this is effectively the on-field captain. He sets the standard,” Child said, adding that he knew instantly that Ritchson was the man to bring his larger-than-life character to the small screen. “I wasn’t interested in his dialogue or anything like that. I just wanted that first second that he’s onscreen: Does he have it or not? He nailed it.”
In a rare interview, Reacher showrunner, writer and executive producer Nick Santora praised his leading man. “He will put in the long hours to learn every single line, to work on fight sequences, and so on,” Santora told GQ. “You don’t know an actor’s work ethic until you are in the soup with them and, fortunately, we all get to work with someone who likes to work really hard too.”
Ritchson’s other comments to GQ that generated headlines center on the puzzling response he’s been fielding from Christians about Reacher’s bedroom ways. “People have this weird relationship with fictional characters, and sort of equate that to the real human being,” he said. “I don’t have that problem, making that distinction. I get criticized a lot by Christians who are like, ‘How dare you have an unmarried sex scene on TV and then talk about Jesus?’ I’m sorry — I doubt that’s going to be part of the conversation when I’m standing at the pearly gates!”
Speaking of the future, Ritchson is thinking long-term when it comes to the success and staying power of Reacher. Even though he’s on the eve of the (already critically acclaimed) third season, he’s in it for the long haul. He said, “I want season 10 to be the best season we’ve ever had.”
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