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Tom Cruise’s run as Jack Reacher was officially over years ago, and no, it was not because of his usual action-packed stunts. It turns out that the actor just didn’t cut it physically! The truth behind his departure from the role came straight from Jack Reacher author Lee Child, who spilled the beans on why fans were just not having it. Spoiler: Cruise was too polished and too short for the part.
Fans of the Jack Reacher book series had one major gripe: Cruise didn’t match the description of their beloved, hulking hero. Reacher’s supposed to be a “big, ugly guy” – think a lock forward from a rugby team, but Cruise? Not so much. “Tom is not ugly, and he’s not big,” Child admitted during a 2018 interview, as per ABC News. And while he wasn’t personally bothered, he understood the fan outrage. We’re talking about a six-foot-five, 250-pound beast in the books versus Cruise’s 5’7” frame, clocking in at 148 pounds. Yeah, not quite the same.
After all the buzz and complaints, the final decision came down to reader feedback. “They’ve had enough of Tom Cruise, and that’s fair enough,” Child said. So, what now for Jack Reacher? Well, no more Cruise. Instead, Child decided to go full-on reboot mode, planning to take Reacher to the small screen with a TV series. It is a binge-watch-worthy series, to be exact. And here’s where it gets juicy: Child wanted a totally new actor. “We’re going to find a huge actor and an ugly actor,” he said at the time. Ugly? Well, in Reacher’s world, that’s the best compliment.
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