Alan Ritchson Opens Up about Baring the ‘Emotionally Vulnerable’ Side of ‘Reacher’ (VIDEO)

Alan Ritchson is a giant. But even bigger than the biceps is his heart. And if you follow him on social media, you know that. He’s a family man. Spiritual. Musical. And as funny as he foine, mkay? Which is part of why Season 2 of Prime Video‘s Reacher is already such a blast.

The action-thriller inspired by Lee Child’s series of novels returned last week with a killer episode, and by the end of the hour, several things were clear: First, if you see someone who looks like Ritchson (one of the greatest pairings of character and actor in book-to-screen adaptation history) walking toward your car, there’s a good chance he’s gonna kick it so hard, your airbags will go off. And then crack wise as he walks away. Secondly, someone is hunting down members of the 110th, his former special-investigation unit. And finally, you don’t mess with the special investigators.

This week’s new episode fills in more of the blanks about the boulder-shouldered Army vet’s government-issued backup as he spends more time with the remaining members of the 110th—Maria Sten‘s Neagely (introduced last season), Serinda Swan‘s Karla Dixon, and Shaun Sipos‘ O’Donnell. Armed with a lead on another colleague, the crew heads off on a road trip to Atlantic City and once there, we also get a hint that the monolithic loner might actually be a bit lonely.

“What is it like to see Reacher in that emotionally vulnerable state?” posited Ritchson during our recent chat. “This is the season we’re gonna find out.” Noting that the season’s storyline, based on author Child’s 11th Reacher novel, Bad Luck and Trouble, finds his character spending a lot of time with his adoptive family, he agrees that the drifter is feeling a little left out. “That adoptive family has all sort of moved on to have what we would call normal lives…and Reacher [has] anything but.”

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He also sees a bit of Jack Reacher in himself, with one major difference. “I am such a lone wolf,” he admits, adding that the life of a working actor often means moving around constantly. “I basically don’t have a home, and I think for a lot of people, that would be excruciatingly lonely. For me, as long as I’ve got my family with me, I could do that forever and be just fine.”

Now that the show has been renewed for a third season, the Fast X alum can hopefully settle down for a bit and enjoy the ride of having a hit show — Especially since he’s now getting to flex more than just his action-figure muscles, courtesy of the comedic banter and character development brought on by the arrival of Reacher’s old friends.

“That is the journey I hope we take,” he says. “Season 1 was all about the physicality, and that was important. That is what we need to see, first and foremost, for Reacher fans. But my goal overtime, I guess, is to change people’s minds about that being all there is to him.”

Watch the full video above for more.

Reacher, Fridays, Prime Video