Reacher star Alan Ritchson has opened up about his childhood, revealing he was taunted for a tumour he had in his chin when he was younger.
The 37-year-old star, who is famously extremely ripped for his role as six-foot five drifter and ex-military man Jack Reacher in the new Amazon TV show, also spoke about hitting puberty late, and how his experiences shaped his personality.
Taking part in a Reddit AMA session on Friday, the actor responded to a post from a fan who had gone to the same middle school as him, congratulating him on his career success and proclaiming that he was ‘always so nice’.
Delving into the misconceptions people can have around people for the way they look, Alan thanked the poster, and added: ‘People that meet me now think I was always my size. But I was a kid that hit puberty at 17.
‘So I always felt like I had something to prove or needed to win hearts and minds via humour or being nice to be around cause I didn’t have what other guys had.’
‘Like hair on my legs,’ he joked.
Getting serious, the actor then spoke about the medical condition he had to deal with when younger and how it affected his treatment by schoolmates.
‘I also had a tumour in my chin when I was in high school that made my jawbone grow really long on one side. I got teased about looking like Jay Leno.’
Sharing that he had the growth removed and the bone shaved down so he ‘looked normal again’, he continued: ‘It’s hard when something out of your control changes the way people treat you in your formative years. It taught me never to judge or look down on someone for things out of their control.’
Reacher’s physique is an important part of the role, with book fans up in arms over Mission: Impossible star Tom Cruise’s casting in two previous films as the man described by Jack Reacher author Lee Child as being ‘extremely tall, extremely broad, long-armed and long-legged’, in addition to having a ‘thick’ neck and ‘hands the size of dinner plates’.
Cruise is believed to stand closer to five foot seven.
‘There was criticism from the book fans, because they had built up a very clear image of what Reacher should look like,’ the writer, who is also an executive producer on the show, told Metro.co.uk.
Reacher was recently renewed for a second season just three days after its debut on Amazon Prime Video.
Alan also lifted the lid on the character’s famously lacking diet and exercise regime, despite his impressive build, insisting that he was the opposite for getting into tip-top shape for the show.
‘It’s hilarious to me,’ he said. ‘Reacher’s routine is stretching when he wakes up. Mine is anything but.’
He even revealed some edits that were made to the script to make it more realistic, explaining: ‘We removed some lines that said, “I never work out.” Cause it just was too ridiculous.
‘I have to work my a** off to fill his frame.’
Reacher season one is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video.
Credit: Original article published here.You can read this post on My Celebrity Life.