Alan Ritchson

Biography

Alan Michael Ritchson (born November 28, 1982) is an American actor. He made his acting debut as Arthur Curry / Aquaman on The CW superhero series Smallville (2005–10), where he appeared as a guest star between the fifth and tenth seasons. He subsequently had a starring role in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State (2010–2011), 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 Amazon Prime Video action thriller series Reacher, beginning in 2022. His latest film appearance is War Machine (2026), where he plays an Army Ranger candidate fighting an extraterrestrial killing machine. 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 == Ritchson was born on November 28, 1982, 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. He has one older brother and one younger brother, and was raised Catholic. The family moved around for his father's work. When he was two, his family moved from Guam to Rantoul, Illinois. When he was 10, Ritchson's father was transferred to Eglin Air Force Base and the family lived in nearby Niceville, Florida. At Niceville High School, Ritchson became interested in performing; he performed in school musicals and regarded Jim Carrey as his idol. In 1999, while still in high school, he began taking college-level music theater and dance classes at Okaloosa Walton Community College, now Northwest Florida State College in Niceville. He graduated from Niceville High in 2001. After graduating from high school, he received a full scholarship to study music and theater at Okaloosa Walton, where he was a member of the Fine Arts Division's Soundsations and Madrigal Singers. However, Ritchson dropped out after two years "because [he] didn't feel fulfilled". 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.

== Career ==

=== Modeling === During his modeling career, Ritchson was an underwear and runway model. He also worked with Bruce Weber, a photographer for the Abercrombie & Fitch catalogue.

=== Television ===

Ritchson 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. He decided to stay in Los Angeles and pursue an acting career. His television acting credits include a recurring guest star role on the television series Smallville as superhero Arthur Curry / Aquaman. His role in Smallville marked the first time Aquaman was portrayed by an actor in an officially licensed live-action production. His future Smallville co-star, Justin Hartley, later portrayed Aquaman in an unaired pilot of the same name before joining the cast of Smallville as another character. Ritchson reprised his role as Aquaman in the final season. Ritchson had a starring role as an army officer in the Hallmark Channel movie Though None Go with Me (2006) alongside Cheryl Ladd, and the role of Lucian Manet in the Lifetime film Nora Roberts' Midnight Bayou (2009). 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). 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. He stayed on the show until it was cancelled after its third season in February 2012. 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. 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. In 2018, Ritchson played the recurring role of Hank Hall / Hawk in the DC Universe series Titans. 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. In 2020, it was announced that Ritchson would play the role of Jack Reacher in an eponymous series on Amazon Prime.

=== Films ===

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. He also co-starred in it as an NSA agent. The film is the first original project of Phreaker Films, a film fund run by Ritchson. The rights for Dark Web: Cicada 3301 were acquired by Lionsgate in 2020, who released the film digitally on March 12, 2021. In 2022, he joined the cast of Fast X. In 2024, Ritchson appeared in Jon Gunn's drama movie Ordinary Angels, written by Meg Tilly and Kelly Fremon Craig, as well as in Guy Ritchie's The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, an action comedy film. In 2025 he starred in the buddy action comedy film Playdate. Ritchson appears in a web series titled Enormous Friends with his Blue Mountain State co-star, Rob Ramsay.