Warning! Spoilers ahead for the Reacher season 3 finale.
Reacher
star Alan Ritchson recalls the one stunt in the season 3 finale’s Paulie fight that knocked him unconscious. Based on Lee Child’s Jack Reacher novel series, the hit Prime Video show premiered in 2022 before returning for its third outing earlier this year, adapting the events of Persuader. The Reacher season 3 finale finally gave audiences the brutal Reacher and Paulie (Olivier Richters) that has been teased all season, with Ritchson’s character enduring a great of punishment as the massive enforcer throws him through walls, tables, and everything in between during an extended brawl.
In a recent interview with EW, Ritchson reveals that he was determined to do many of his own stunts for this Reacher season 3 fight sequence, which took about three weeks to film. One stunt that Ritchson got some pushback on, however, was one in which Paulie lifts Reacher up and smashes him down through a table into the floor. Ritchson said that his desire to do the stunt himself resulted in a “huge fight” with his team, but the action beat was important to him:
“I was like, ‘I want the audience to know that I’m doing this for us. I’m taking one for Reacher and we’re all in this together,’ and so I wanted the camera to come up and just stay on my face the whole time while I get smashed through a table on the barn floor.“
Ritchson was told by his team that he was likely to be severely injured doing this particular stunt, and the actor says it ended up being a lesson in being “careful what you wish for.” The star reveals that he was knocked unconscious from the impact, giving himself and his family quite a scare:
“I got picked up and we worked out the camera thing a few times and he slammed me through the table so hard, I went through it into the seventh circle of hell. And I woke up a day and a half later. When I came to, I had to tell my kids that I felt great, because they were on set, and I didn’t want them to think that like, dad died and was going to not be okay. It was the worst few minutes of my life.”
What This Means For Reacher Season 3
Ritchson Is A Major Reason For The Prime Video Show’s Success
The response to Reacher season 3 has been glowing from critics, resulting in a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes. A key reason for the praise, which echoes the sentiments surrounding seasons 1 and 2, is that Ritchson is perfectly cast as the show’s title character. Clearly, he doesn’t just have the acting chops to pull the part off, but he’s willing to go above and beyond to make the show as entertaining as possible. As Greg McArthur writes in his Reacher season 3 review for ScreenRant:
Ritchson once again proves that he was born to play Reacher, a role he nearly lost but fought his way back to landing.
Ritchson’s story, however, does highlight the importance of stunt performers in the movie and TV-making process. If Ritchson had been more seriously injured, this would have put the entire production at risk. Stunt performers are highly trained when it comes to taking hard hits and selling them on camera, and Ritchson himself may not have this level of expertise. Ritchson’s unfortunate experience shooting this scene may affect his willingness to do similar stunts in Reacher season 4, or the stunts themselves may be pulled off with more safety precautions.
Child revealed to TechRadar last month that filming on Reacher season 4 will get underway this summer.
Our Take On Ritchson’s Reacher Season 3 Stunt
Ritchson Goes Above & Beyond
Ritchson’s injury could have been a lot worse, and it thankfully sounds like he was able to walk away from the experience relatively unscathed. Though the action beat is a brief one in the grand scheme of Reacher’s larger Paulie fight sequence, it is a hard-hitting moment. It’s also clear that it’s Ritchson the whole time, adding to the intensity of the moment and enhancing what could be the show’s most impressive fight sequence to date.
Related
Reacher Season 3, Episode 8 Review – I’m Relieved Season 3 Closed Out With A Thrilling Yet Predictable Conclusion
Prime Video’s Reacher season 3, episode 8, “Unfinished Business,” closes out the exciting but sometimes sluggish third season of Reacher in style.
In addition to benefiting the fight itself, Ritchson’s desire to do his own stunts also speaks to his dedication to the show and to the character. Reacher season 4 is clearly in good hands, and it’s entirely possible that a season 5 and beyond will end up happening as well. The Reacher season 3 Paulie fight certainly sets a high bar, and it could be challenging for future seasons to top this.
Source: EW
Reacher
8/10
- Release Date
-
February 3, 2022
- Network
-
Prime Video
- Showrunner
-
Nick Santora
- Directors
-
Omar Madha, Carol Banker, Julian Holmes, Lin Oeding, M.J. Bassett, Norberto Barba, Stephen Surjik, Thomas Vincent
- Writers
-
Cait Duffy