Did ALAN RITCHSON Have Any Issue With Not Being Asked to Portray AQUAMAN

🐬 Alan Ritchson discusses his feelings of not being asked to play Aquaman after portraying the character in Smallville.
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Jack Reacher himself, Alan Ritchson (Reacher, Blue Mountain State) joins me this week to bravely discuss his battle with bipolarism and the struggle in finding his true identity in Hollywood. Alan and I talk about being a better fit for Jack Reacher compared to past actors, hitting rock-bottom mentally, and the intense filming schedule of Amazon Prime Video’s Reacher.
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Did ALAN RITCHSON Have Any Issue With Not Being Asked to Portray AQUAMAN #insideofyou #aquaman

[@heatherdale5571]

Can’t tell you how overjoyed I was to see Alan finally getting his with Reacher. Talk about perfect casting! Congrats AR…you’ve earned it!

[@gravecode]

You must have never watched Blue Mountain State

[@jordancrass]

Perfect casting. He actually IS Reacher from the books, not Tom "I'm way to tiny for this role" Cruise

[@snooksv3172]

The show is actually insanely good. Cool af.

[@Billy-bc8pk]

There is literally only one more casting he needs that he is perfect for: BJ Blaskowicz from Wolfenstein. Get Guy Ritchie to direct. He's practically playing William in the upcoming Guy Ritchie film, he just needs his own spin-off and his legacy will be complete!

[@tylerwellman8252]

Struggles paid off man! You killed it with Reacher. Can't wait for 2nd season.

[@PolyglotMonkey]

I never saw him anywhere again after Smallville. He was ok there but far from my favourite (I liked Justin's GA much better). But him in Reacher... Damn! Now I'm kind of starting to wish we'd got a blond superman. His reacher performance was a surprise close to Bryan Cranston in BB for me.

[@kidrobot.]

@@PolyglotMonkey he did the motion capture for the two cgi teenage mutant ninja turtles reboot movies

[@NielsMulvad]

Blue Mountain state, thats where I became a fan. Trust me 3 seasons and one movie with him as the standout.

[@PolyglotMonkey]

@@kidrobot. I vaguely remember Megan Fox .... yeah, that's it :D

[@Hunter-os5yx]

Seriously Reacher is nasty 2nd season is gonna be great

[@JaysonBumbalough]

It all worked out. Aquaman didn’t get picked up. Justin Hartley became Green Arrow and Alan came back as Aquaman a ton of times in smallville.

[@joemckim1183]

And than Hartley eventually got on This Is Us, it all worked out for everyone.

[@sbashkatova]

Alan is a gift. So eloquent and gracious. Michael is a bigger gift for running the podcast and just having a skill to make people so comfortable and vulnerable in his studio. Thank you.

[@lilymiranda4381]

The growth we’ve seen from Alan between Smallville and Reacher is incredible. So proud of this man! Smallville fans truly adore him!❤

[@Shameless_Spiff]

Yeah, he did get huge.

[@cainabel2009]

The main reason they did not consider Alan Ritchson for the role of Aquaman is the same reason that they did not consider Justin Harley for the role of arrow and is because fans would think it was a direct continuation of Smallville and the creators did not want that. The creators intended it to be different universe and to best illustrate that fact their used different actors. There are some interviews that the creators have done mentioning this. I feel bad for Alan though because they just wasted his time there had no intention of ever using him, the great thing thing come out about it was he learned a lesson.

[@theranchhand]

Love listening to this guy. Wish I was working with more people and his attitude.

[@andrealexander7792]

What a humble dude. Great life message to live by

[@BIGBMH]

It was very cool to learn the behind the scenes of this. At the time, I remember being pretty disappointed and frustrated that they weren't going to bring back Alan and make it a proper Smallville spinoff and felt similarly when they didn't use Hartley for Arrow. However, I appreciate the perspective he offered on how this helped him to learn and grow. Ultimately it feels like things worked out well for all parties involved, but it's funny to consider how spinoff-happy the CW became a few years later with the Arrowverse. I think if the connected universe approach had proven successful earlier, the CW probably would've prioritized expanding the Smallville universe.

[@burjaman11]

He should play Hercules in the MCU

[@salty3723]

This is a casting I never knew I needed

[@thanos_gionis]

Nice choice. I would actually go with Henry Cavil. Russell Crowe is already Zeus

[@wayneralph5449]

We don't need Hercules until Thor's gone. Herc in the comics was always Thor but the fun version, except Chris has moved Thor into that Slot.

[@wayneralph5449]

@@thanos_gionis Cavil for Captain Britain is my choice.

[@shinjisan2015]

@@wayneralph5449 if you think about it, he already played this role in Mission Impossible.

[@MohammadShahnawaz772023]

This guy was just perfect as reacher...hopefully they ll not disappoint on season 2

[@WaniZame]

It’s so weird to think I remember watching that episode back as an emo teenager. Happy for Alan he was the best thing on Titans and he killed it with Reacher which was a high quality guilty pleasure. Also I remember the Aquaman pilot trailer, it looked so bad.

[@Swenglish]

I saw a cut of the pilot when it leaked online. It may have been under a working title like "Mercy Reef" or something, I'm not sure (or that may have just been in the conversation around it before the leak). It was one of those pilots that could have maybe developed into something if it had been picked up, but there wasn't anything in the pilot itself that made me sad that it didn't. Perfectly mediocre. Not very interesting.

[@campbell5511]

This man is so good but is given the worst hand every time but now with reacher he is finally getting the respect he deserves Alan=🐐

[@Phenom0100]

It's funny how Justin Hartley ended up playing the Green Arrow on Smallville while failing to play Aquaman in a spinoff!

[@pwners4u]

It wasn’t failing, the pilot got cancelled but because they liked Justin so much they put him in smallville as Oliver which was a better cast anyway

[@TrueNomadSkies]

Yeah, he was my favorite Green Arrow.

[@LaminarSound]

This guy is golden. Its refreshing to see that hes basically the same guy he portrays in Reacher. A good, honorable man.

[@stephenadkins616]

I'll be honest, I forgot who Alan was till I saw Reacher and he did such a phenomenal job I looked him up. Blew me away when I realized he was Smallville Aquaman. Then I found out he was in a bunch of stuff I'd seen and just hadn't recognized him. He seems like a great guy.

[@morecringe89]

I don't know this guy personally, but I like his work and how he talks. I hope his future goes well. Reacher is fun, love the role and how he did it. Best wishes for you and your family.

[@sethmorgan6693]

Nice guy. Very humble to know nothing is owed. You can’t help but appreciate that in a person.

[@rustyshackleford2792]

Dude will always be Thad to me. Love the guy.

[@TrueNomadSkies]

Oil changes for everyone!

[@TMNT_2003]

Man Alan Ritchson is auch a sweet dude and man i am happy he finally got what he deseved

[@lotusmanb3832]

I like this guy . Humble and kind. Reacher is excellent !

[@mike393000]

Incredible actor! He's such a nice down to earth guy in this interview. Totally open and friendly... but he can throw a switch and be Jack Reacher.. awesome! As I watch this I don't see Reacher.. just Alan..

[@SenorJohnMega]

OH MY GOD. I just realized Reacher is Aquaman! I absolutely loved his run on Smallville. That first episode where the kids went to the beach (in Kansas... that looked like the set of The 4400... weird), and he and Clark had that underwater scuffle, it was awesome. I've been watching Reacher for a a while now and have been thoroughly impressed with Mr. Ritchson's performance and now it makes perfect sense. The guy was built in a government lab designed to ooze personality and screen presence. Dang that's awesome

[@TheGreg6466]

I saw a trailer for the Reacher show this guy's in and I thought "cool, Aquaman is playing Jack Reacher", he'll just always be Aquaman from smallville to me.

[@luxintenebris1776]

He'll always be Thad Castle for me lol

[@snooksv3172]

What the show, you'll forget about all his other roles lol.

[@GLUFSAREN]

@@luxintenebris1776 I didn't remember him in smallville until later when I rewatched some episodes on tv one day when i was bored. Thad Castle was amazing. He stole show every time.

[@joemckim1183]

He'll always be Thad from BMS to me.

[@shihabrj9921]

i love this guy.wonderful human being.just finished reacher,it was awesome.

[@RexxReviews]

Well considering that Aquaman show never went beyond a pilot id say he dodged a bullet.

[@milliep7870]

I sure am glad you got the Reacher part. Great job, from an avid Reacher fan.

[@reaversix2798]

Reacher was great! Alan did a fantastic job! I couldn't see anyone else pulling it off.

[@Mbscott96]

I always wanted Ritchson to get a big break. I knew he would make it. I thought he had his second coming in Titans but then they just wasted him. Love he’s Reacher now. Keep up the work. You all rock. Smallville will forever be the best dc tv show.

[@Teckno77]

I recognised Alan straight away when I saw Reacher and I was like Holy Sh!! It's Aquaman cool!!! haha.

[@lazo3251]

I first saw him on Titans

[@eddierascalhaskell4954]

Its good to see Alan's career ramping up. Every performance I've seen him in so far has been money.

[@blankspace178]

Your first role was beating up SUPERMAN during spring break at the lake...this is how I'll always remember you professionally!

[@RJBEK28]

It wasn't a spinoff from Smalville. It was the guys at WB TV thinking of doing another show like Smalville with another. Batman was off limits,only other options was Aquaman pt Wonder Woman on terms of names.

[@jaynation7789]

When it was initially conceived it was 100% a spin off hence them initially wanting Alan to reprise the role of Arthur. That changed to what would have essentially been a separate universe when they went with Justin instead. Since the pilot failed though that is why Justin ended up playing Oliver on Smallville instead.

[@GLUFSAREN]

@@jaynation7789 which was probably the best thing for both of them, since aquaman wasn't in the hands of capable people, it was better that it was axed. Alan would have been great for the spinoff with the original idea, but the new guy who came a long and started making decisions for sure would have ruined the whole thing. Just like disney does with everything they buy when they try to control the narrative.

[@somebuddyX]

I love that Mercy Reef pilot and always wanted more of it, but I also love Justin being part of Smallville. Mercy Reef had some great visual effects with Torres' jet crashing and some cool underwater filming and I still wonder what they were going to do with all those people that were displaced in time or whatever was happening.

[@Zull-vh7nq]

Met Alan at a con last year. Super nice guy. Very down to earth

[@RenegadeRanga]

Cant say I saw much of smallville but I remember Mike being pretty awesome and now he's running a cool podcast. Being hungry before finding success helps you stay humble and appreciate it more.

[@nkgarland]

Except that's the opposite of what happened for him. He had incredible success on Smallville, then thought he got too big for it and quit, and has never had a role even close to that level since. Smallville made him and will forever be his biggest role, now he just interviews people he knows from those acting days who have gone on to bigger things because they didn't torpedo their career by getting too big for their britches.

[@Caught1nTh3Crossfire]

I remember watching S3 growing up and being blown away lol I was 11 or 12 at the time and watching since the first episode, but season 3 felt like the dawn of a new age for the show.

[@jraykotheanomaly2365]

Much respect... he did a good job as aquaman in smallville... haven't watched reacher buy I will

[@CK-solutions]

Alan's awesome. He will always stand out as Raphael to me, but glad he's found other outlets for his creativity, that enriches himself and family life in private. I haven't watched Reacher and probably not likely to, but from the trailers it looks like he's still enjoying himself.

[@pika9752]

Crazy that was his first role....I remember Smallville use to shoot in my town and even my brother was an extra lol

[@calebrenegar1992]

“Faking it” yeah Alan, ACTING. Lol

[@admiraln8]

If Momoa quits Aquaman or if Chris quits THOR, we all know who needs to get that call...

[@drewjenkins2318]

Natalie Portman ....

[@acerpro101]

@@drewjenkins2318 YES!!!

[@thebadgamer1967]

He's refreshingly honest

[@SkipsTinyBeard]

Reacher was badass. ALL because of Alan Ritchson. Make this man the next big action hero.

[@mattspicer8853]

I forgot he was aquaman! Reacher is amazing but always gonna be Thad to me.

[@pwners4u]

All that happened was the pilot got cancelled he was still on smallville as aquaman and Justin played green arrow. So really it all worked out

[@mazx]

And it's funny because Justin lost out on Arrow to Stephen Amell

[@pwners4u]

@@mazx which I liked but CW has a failed format that only worked out for smallville. Too many episodes, too many seasons and using too many villains that shouldn’t be in it

[@2Good2BeTrue45]

@@mazx Jsutin didn't lose anything. They asked him long time ago to do a spinoff of Smallville with Green Arrow but he turned it down multiple times, because in his own words he had too much respect for Smallville and the cast to then make something all about him. He was done with Green Arrow at that point

[@pwners4u]

@Will N but the problem is you just said it’s “what if Batman was Robin Hood” when green arrow and Batman are nothing alike in current comics, yes maybe in 1940’s they were as they were both millionaire orphans with a child sidekick using gadgets to fight crime but now it’s a lot different. Like red arrow/ arsenal wasn’t used properly, Roy was never speedy which meant his arc was rushed and could have easily been a 3 season thing. It could have all been internalised with Merlin, Roy harper being speedy, arsenal and red arrow and his conflict loving a villain. Season 1,2 and 3 were good but after that they went off the rails

[@moabuawad7441]

AR was great on BMS I dont know how he didnt get more roles.... great job on reacher!

[@freddycastillo7203]

Lo quiero volver a ver como aquaman

[@mondox8890]

He was great as Thad Castle in Blue Mountain State.

[@Anthonycheesman33]

He would be a good aquaman now imo .

[@curseofyig6727]

Namor!

[@j.l.5966]

@@curseofyig6727 I can definitely see that casting. Alan down to his natural weight at a lean 205 lbs, hair dyed black, shape up the eyebrows, green speedo and BAM, we got ourselves the Submariner!

[@Boomer7654]

@@j.l.5966 I always thought Cumberbatch would have been an awesome Namur but he’s good as Strange

[@H.K.5]

Especially with his new physique. He’s far more physically imposing than Jason Mamoa.

[@TH15N4M315UN4V41L4BL]

I didn't know I'd love Smallville Aquaman this much so many years later

[@buddah1221]

been so long since I watched Smallville I didn't realize he was Aquaman. It's funny because I was thinking the other day he'd be perfect if they recast Aquaman

[@kalphil4385]

Alan killed it as Thad on Blue Mountain State.

[@beautifulstorm1]

He should have been Aquaman. If marvel or DC don't pick this man up for the next superhero movie they're really missing the f*** out

[@Marcustrh]

This man gotta get his flowers from aquaman to hawk to reacher! I wonder if Gunn has he’s sights on him he’d make a great Guy Gardner 🤞🏿🙌🏿 Micheal thank you for this podcast. Goes without saying your portrayal of Lex is THE STANDARD!!!

[@UltraMagnis]

Michael. I dunno if anyone has ever mention this to you but I loved the movie pool hall junkies growing up. Me and my mates would chuck it on before we would head out to the bar and feel like pool sharks, some of us were not bad. Highly underrated film. Chris walkens monologue is the stand out....but you and the whole cast were great. Bit of an obscure film here in Australia but we all owned a copy.

[@cloud77ism]

Great film

[@bonnolog]

My original Aquaman back in the day.

[@yfz350twin]

This guy would have been a more comic accurate Aquaman than Momoa imo.

[@williamsmith8790]

You should have been Lex in the Cavill movies.

[@TheGoodTheBadTheRowdy]

Eh from smallville, to the csi, person of interest, to strike back, Ive always been amazed at how ground many guys like Alan were, I myself didn't realize he was new, I thought he and others like Kyle and Alan were big deals haha, shows how worthless extra bodies can be huh? Hahaha. Went Law Enforcement, then Marines, RCN/RDR, and officially just ended my long career haha, now back to films or shows when and where I can get in! I enjoy The Wicks, Reacher, and Equalizer Films, then across the years as randos across diff mcu projects, as well Agents of Shield... I am glad Alan is having so much success, would love for him to come back along with Kyle as multiverse parodies like Tom did on crisis runs. Heck, Rosenbaum, would love to see you spoof as a elsewhere superman, and also a green lantern, you got a diff feel then folks whove been casted, Maybe play a good reverse flash? Haha, anyways, great video guys!

[@MythopoeicNavid]

It was just a great episode with the intro to Arthur where (I think it was season 4?) I thought MERCY REEF the Aquaman spinoff pilot came afterwards? But anyway, Alan was great because he was this enivronmental activist "A.C." lol. We needed more deconstructions like that. The guest-appearances from other DC heroes on Smallville was always had this Bronze Age comics/just truly different approach to the archetypes that made them so different. The Smallville Approach. That's what these newer shows don't have in the bid for comics-accuracy/faithfulness.

[@lalotime]

This guy voice sounds so familiar. He would be great for voice acting

[@regprofant8609]

That fight scene in episode 7 where he got the crap beat out of him with a crow bar was rediculus. After so many more realistic ones through out the series they should fire the guy who orchestrated that one. Absolutely to phoney

[@nkgarland]

Yeah, I thought the same thing, it was absurd. I was even willing to look the other way when he was deflecting shots with his arms, like maybe those are some fractures you can walk through. But taking multiple crowbar shots to the face, and then just being completely fine, it was the most ridiculous and off-putting aspect of the show. That scene was probably the only one in the series that took me completely out of the show, like, this is just beyond suspension of disbelief. They made a ton of other action scenes without absolutely ridiculous bullshit, but they jumped the shark hard on that one.

[@Robby_Rob]

Thought the same thing! Also he took on all those guys in the prison fight scene without a batting an eye and then a guy half his size now poses this much of a threat?

[@michaelbonhomme3219]

Crowbars hurt lol.

[@ktoth29]

likewise, it would have been more realistic if he just dodged the crowbar, but one blow to the head and he would have been out...then he fell in the pool and didnt' drown

[@PolyglotMonkey]

That and the hardcore exposition dump in the beginning of the last episode where the bad guys explain their plan :D But otherwise it was great entertainment. Also: the Finlay actor was great!

[@wayneralph5449]

Reacher was awesome 👌

[@kurtfranklin2680]

Seems like a cool guy.

[@jasonnesmith6518]

He stole the show as his character Hawk in Titans - well at least the scenes he didn't share with Minka Kelly. He's killing it with Reacher!

[@CatotheE]

They should cast him in the DCEU.

[@arcenal_studios]

Alan Ritchson should be DCU's new BATMAN in "The Brave and the Bold" movie. no questions asked.

[@gjamiejmz]

This guy is great

[@SterlingOladapominiiglo]

I still see this man as Aquaman to this day. Either him or Guy Gardner

[@MarekWachowski]

I See Alan in Future MCU :)

[@Ptrixle]

I really want him to play the sentry, I think he’s perfect

[@user-kg6bo9pq2r]

마이클 로젠바움...스몰빌에서 연기를 너무 잘 해서, 정말 최고였어요. 시즌1~3까지의 렉스 루터는 정말 본받고 싶은 멋진 남자였어요..^^ 한때 렉스 루터가 내 이상형이었어요. Michael Rosenbaum... did such a good job in Smallville, it was awesome. Lex Luthor from season 1 to 3 was a wonderful man who I really want to emulate..^^ At one time, Lex Luthor was my ideal type.

[@robertjackson1615]

I still can’t over this is thad castle

[@willcwong]

Alan would be a great aquaman, he definitely should be considered in the new DCEU

[@donnywilliamson5807]

He def looks more like the comic book version of Aquaman than Momoa does. Would also make a great Capt America

[@andrewvasquez7872]

IMAGINE AQUAMAN BEING YOUR FIRST ROLE?! What a freaking way to start your career. Thats how I would look at it. Like damn, most guys start their career doing goofy (but well paying and lucrative) commercials or "guy in cafe" roles. But having your first role be Aquaman on the biggest comic show at the time? Jeeze.

[@szymonbaranowski8184]

so nice he got well grounded early on.

[@ddundee9513]

Just watched reacher I love this guy really wanna see him and Hemsworth kick ass together 🤣🤣 Also find nite this guy was the best of the turtles 🐢

[@elvinrivera5638]

Not gonna lie, he is my current Aquaman fan casting for the new Gunn led DC.

[@saboogly]

Holy crap I knew I recognized him I watch smallville to death just been watch reacher and i knew i liked him

[@naruto73syfy]

Damn! I forgot he was aqua man. Wow!

[@SamuelPearlman]

Actually he was asked NOT to play aquaman... :p But joke's on them they declined to pick up the series after Justin did the pilot.

[@RoonMian]

I find the tangle in the headphone's cable very unnerving.

[@joemckim1183]

If he was Aquaman in his own show he wouldn't have been able to do Blue Mountain State which was a role he was absolutely perfect for.

[@batmanfanizationreborn6055]

He was good aquaman, but damn i loved him in reacher, he was so good

[@patrickfabsich2692]

more then Aquaman again they should ask him play Batman or Green pyshiscally he would be perfect...

[@CountShockula]

He would be perfect for Simon Williams/Wonder Man for MCU....they need to make that happen.

[@anthonycampos8057]

He needs to stay as Reacher.

[@greymelton3466]

He killed it in reacher

[@friendlyneighborhooddork5204]

He sounds like Nolan north

[@mariotubin]

Richson could either be Aquaman or Lobo easily.... since the DCU is being rebooted, he could play either one

[@hawfcut2394]

He's the perfect Reacher. The Cruise movies are good and he did well with them of course, but god damn Alan killed the role.

[@damaniqphillip2756]

Wow

[@1dudecrush]

Alan would have made a perfect Aquaman in the Snyder movies and whatnot :(

[@RANCE22808]

It's funny how Alan is gonna star alongside Jason Momoa in the next fast and furious movie.

[@mre_man]

Alan is a great example do not judge a book by its cover. He has the pretty boy dumb jock look but he is a very well spoken individual.

[@JanuaryRaines27]

Alan sounds so much like Stephen Amell. It’s insane

[@SIMON_SAYS_SO]

Alan Ritchson could play Aquaman in Gunn's DCU if Jason Momoa plays Lobo

[@Knoispowr]

Have him play aquaman in the DCU

[@christophersanders5780]

I'd of liked 👍 seeing him play aqm