Though he is careful not to describe his main character Jack Reacher (other than large and invulnerable) in the books his mental image of Reacher is rugby star, Lawrence Dallaglio (pictured below).
One of the books has been scripted and there's the possibility of a film in the next couple of years.
One of the actors that keeps being linked with Reacher is Hugh Jackman:
One of the next two or three books will revisit Reacher's past in the same way as The Enemy did.
The only other person he could think of who wrote a series with some books in 3rd person and some in 1st was Barbara Kingsolver.
The current Book Review podcast (covering The Secret Speech by Tom Rob Smith and Heartland by Anthony Cartwright, with Joel Morris, Boyd Hilton and Stella Duffy) can be listened to or downloaded at the BBC website. It's possible that earlier editions can be retrieved via iTunes (or similar)...
40 comments:
What about Daniel Craig? (Just in case you want an excuse to post pics of more beefcake ;-) ).
I suppose Viggo is a bit old for the role. Maybe he could guest as the older brother in book one.
Daniel Craig was mentioned but they felt he was already taken as Bond. I think he would be a good fit. Only one American actor was suggested though not seriously - Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.
Interesting, Maxine, I thought Daniel Craig looked too young to be Reacher. That rugby player actually matches more closely the mental image I have when I read the books.
There's a very Dallaglio type head silhouette on some of the books eg Without Fail.
You can tell I'm avoiding work.
Jack Reacher b. 1960 6'5" and 220 - 250 lbs
Daniel Craig b. 1968 5'11 and 180 - 200 lbs
Hugh Jackman b. 1968 6'2 and 210 lbs
Viggo Mortensen b. 1958 5'11 and 180 lbs
Lawrence Dallaglio b. 1972 6'3 and 251 lbs
Reacher was 37 when he got out of the Army so he is in his 40s now.
If Dallaglio can't act I vote for Hugh Jackman.
Oh well look, Viggo is only two years older so he can play him after all!
How about Josh Holloway from Lost.
don't know about his acting chops, but tyler maine totally fits the bill physically. he was sabretooth in the first x men movie. check him out on google images. no one else has the size to play him convincingly.
Mike B: Josh Holloway is a great shout, born in 1969, 6'2", and has the disheveled rough and ready look that is Jack reacher.
Please not "the rock", we want the Reacher films to be serious crime thrillers not some hollywood trash.
Well I'm just finishing my 2nd book in the Reacher series and we all have our idea of what he looks like in our heads but he has to be able to crush a water melon in his bare hands, tower over 90% of the general population,look right through you in a single stare and fill an XL Army jacket with shoulders that would dwarf Darth Vader. In fact almost dwarf Vader and intimidate him at the same time. After checking the people mentioned in this discussion my vote is for Tyler Mane. He looks like a big bad mother fucker who would have vengeance on anyone who fucked with his world.
That's just what I see in my head.
Josh Holloway would be 2nd.
If there was a movie about Reacher with some holywood star as Reacher I would probably rather eat the money then spend them for a cinema. Srsly, the rugby player is the only one who fits. All the other mentioned guys look too cool for a vagrant reacher type.
Viggo is too old, too frail by now. Daniel Craig, while being possibly a good choice, is too closely linked to his new James Bond character, just as Kiefer Sutherland is with his 24's Jack Bauer. I think, although he's already been depicted in a 'badass' role in the first Punisher film, that Tom Jane would be a good choice for playing Jack Reacher.
I can't believe that any actor less than 6' 2" would be considered. This should be non-negotiable. How about David Morse - a little old but the size fits, or Kevin Durand - mid thirties and size fits the bill. Jackman is too pretty
I just found this and am a huge Reacher fan. What about Liev Schreiber?? He is 6'3"
First off, Reacher isn't bald/balding or thinning. So no to the rugby player. I agree with the posts about not making the character the typical Hollywood girlie boy type. Dolph Lundgren or Howie Long should be considered. They are both 6'5" 220 plus and can be made to look weathered. David Morse would have been the best choice 10 years ago. You need a real manly man for the part...not these pretty boys other people are posting.
The rugby player definitely looks like what reacher should look like. I'd vote for liev schreiber as a backup
At last, a forum where someone actually has the same opinion as me, Liev Schrieber would be my choice for Reacher!!
it may seem a little out there but bradley cooper with a crew cut and without a smile could look a lot like reacher. he has the "ice blue eyes" and hes a little over 6'1" also if any actor that isn't 6'2" or taller is used, they should cast shorter actors for the other parts to make him look taller
he also has the dirty blond hair and wide chest. the only problem is he is usually cast in comedy roles
I am a hollywood actor fairly new in the biz, not yet known. I have some good perspective on this one. The folks who suggest the actor must tower over others is correct. Using a smallish actor will eliminate the huge hands, which are a mandatory aspect of Reacher. That said, here are my thoughts on candidates:
David Morse would've been a shoe-in imo, but he might be a bit old now. He would be a great choice though; he's a fabulous actor and big guy.
Dolph Lundgren could do the job fine. His stock will go up dramatically after the release of "The Expendables", and he doesn't look his fifty one years - he might be a choice for the roles when Reacher is mid forties and up. Though not often associated with good acting, he is actually quite capable as a stoic action hero, and its more his films (writing/directing, etc.) than his acting skills that are problematic.
One guy who will undoubtedly find his way into film and so forth is ex pro wrestler and current MMA fighter Brock Lesnar. Physically, Lesnar is pretty close. Huge at just over six three and two seventy, he would actually have to lose about twenty five pounds to fit the bill. But he has the ridge forhead, the ice blue eyes, the stoicism, and the massive hands and shoulders that are so integral to the role. Can he act? Who knows? But mark my words, Hollywood has a habit of turning these guys into stars.
Personally, the face I always picture when I read the novels is Brian Bosworth. He's the only smallish guy worth considering. I know, you're all gonna tell me what a crappy actor he is, and you'd all be wrong. Again, it's the films, timing, and lack of star power personality and connections that contribute to uneducated analysis of acting skill. He could do the job fine, but at six one and 200 lbs he probably isn't big enough.
As for the other suggestions, the only possibility that makes any sense at all is Hugh Jackman. Even he is not really anything near what is needed physically, but his star power might land him the role if he wants it. Too bad, because we'd never see the scenes involving Reacer's tremendous grip strength on other mortal's limbs!
My three cents.
Kevin Durand is the best physical choice, and of those discussed here I believe has shown the best overall acting ability for this type of roll. Just look over his record on IMDB along with the parts played and whom he has played opposite in those films.
Of course depending upon how much the script deviates from the book this could change things.
Most of the others mentioned are either too small, pretty, or old for the part.
I would say Dolph Lundgren would be an otherwise near perfect choice, but if this takes off as a franchise I would be more willing to bet on Kevin Durand (sorry Dolph).
I know this is going to sound WAY out there and is not helpful but there was an episode of Law and Order: SVU that included a white supremacist character who was awaiting trial for murder. They attempted to get him to turn state's evidence (I cannot remember what happened in the episode). He was really tall (must have been around 6'4"), blonde, really blue eyes. Having read all of Lee Child's books, he's who i always think of when i try and put a face/body to the character.
How about a slimmer Brock lesnar? He can obviosuly act alright aND he can fight so so now that hes in MMA I vote for Brock even though i dont like brock I have read every book in series and from the descriptions i think Brock could fit the bill. I would make Brock slim down to about 240 becuase he looks so big naturally and cast him
Brock Lesner is a good call especially when you consider the requirement for a 50" chest. However, I have always pictured Bosworth while reading the books as well.
Having gone to school with Bosworth at Oklahoma, I can assure you, he is plenty imposing.
How about Abhishek Bachchan?
What about a bigger version of Josh Holloway (Sawyer) from Lost.
Its not just about size and muscle mass (though those are very important :) he's also highly intellgent and they can't cast some huge lump (like the guy from Expendables) he's got to look like he's got a working brain in his head and not like all its good for is bashing against a wall... All thay to say I think Hugh Jackman would do just fine!
how about John Cena? Big guy and not too bad an actor
What about Jon Hamm? I saw a lot of Reacher in Hamm's FBI agent in "The Town." In addition to his size, Reacher is also calm, smart, funny, flirtatious.
Liam Neeson is a shoe in for Reacher and what an actor.
oh wow, I love jack reacher! not really my type of guy but he would be awesome to have as an uncle lol. he cant be any "pretty faces" - you cant imagine any actor in a mens skincare ad as Jack! so no to josh holloway, leiv chreiber or bradley cooper. has any one considered aussie actor conan stevans? he is HUGE. liam hemsworth in 10 yrs is axactly how i could see if face. tyler maine too. maybe kurt russel 10yrs ago. hmmm.
First I was thinking maybe Chris hemsworth but then I thought he's too muscular then I looked at some pictures of Hugh jackman... If he dyed his hair blonde he would be perfect for the part
Please for the sake of sanity.... tell me they are NOT thinking of casing Tom Cruise as Jack Reacher.
Hello all, I don't know if this post is still active, but I wanted to add my two (euro)cents to this.
First of all I have read a few books of Lee Child and all here are more or less right with their suggestions, except Dolph Lundgren (since universal soldiers he's done for me). Reacher is a big tough and frightening guy. As I am not a native english speaker, I may understand some things differnt in the English books, but in most cases people are only impressed by Reacher, when they have read his records or he made them look stupid. So he should not be a very good looking guy (Hugh "Wolverine" Jackman looks to good). But still women like him, and not only for his size(s), so he also has to look some nice.
I am not saying he should do it, as I guess his English is not the best, but I guess we are also looking for a guy who is not directly linked to a movie charachter like Mark Hamill, Elijah Wood or David Craig or the entire WWE (esspecially here you would expect someone to jump out under the motel bed to attack and abuse Reacher).
What about a charachter like Ralf Moeller (Hagen in Gladiator)? He was Born 1959, 6'6" and weight 288 pound in '88. He has blue eyes, doesn't look smart, but I guess his vissual effect would be attractive to women also.
If there would be someone exactly like Ralf Moeller (and doesn't come esspecially from Austria)with maybe better acting skills and has not lost hias face to a movie character, then we have him.
What about this?
TOM CRUISE???? WTF??? Hopefully that is a big big big HUGE rumor. I spent 30 minutes trying to find the story from a reputable news organization, and couldn't. So hopefully it is just a rumor. If not, I'll just continue to enjoy the books and not see the movie.
I still say Dolph Lundgren or Ken Kirzinger though.
Shame on you Jim Grant. YOU just alienated EVERY single Reacher fam by your greed.
Why am I blaming him? Cause it's HiS character. He owns it. So he had a say in who played him. Tom Cruise? Really? He's 5'7" 150 pounds.
Why am I calling him greedy? Because I know what he is doing. Trying to sell books by making it a movie that people will only go see because Cruise is in it that don't know who Reacher is.
All that will happen is that Reacher fans will not go see it. I'll even stop reading his books. SInce he's greedy. I still have about 7 to read, that I won't even buy now.
So he is losing his fan base with this decision and won't gain much from the movie goers. Most movie goers don't read. SO let's say 100 million people see the movie, find out it's a literary character and a 1/4 of those buy a Reacher novel. So, yes he'll sell 25 million more books at a time, but after they read what the real Reacher is about, they won't buy another because it isn't what they expected after watching the movie.
He's cut both sides of his own throat.
Daniel Craig - no way - not even close. Tom Cruise - you have got to be kidding me!!! - can you picture a 5'7" Reacher jumping up and down on a couch . . . don't think so. I often wonder why when they are casting an entirely new character they don't look for a brand new talent that isn't already connected with other roles in the same genre that most are tired of seeing already.
Tom Cruise ? Ridiculous.
The man is 5ft 6 - Reacher is 6ft 5
Ray Stevenson would be perfect. (That he hails from Cramlington seals it for me) Ray is 6ft 4.
His performance as the tough but big hearted Titus Pullo in Rome was wonderful.
But I suppose Reacher would need to be tough, and NO soft side.
Beggin' your pardon, but you are all wrong ;o) The perfect Reacher actor is readily available : Jason Stratham. Unless you're feeling racist against a brit ;o)
Tom Cruise - got the part. Can you even believe they did that?
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