I meet the 41-year-old in the basement of a house where he’s doing our photo shoot, halfway between Atlanta and his log cabin in Jasper, Georgia. A large, plasteredover beam drops down from the basement’s ceiling and everyone else moves under it easily. But whenever Ritchson approaches the beam, I feel the same bolt of stress as when a particularly large truck is about to pass under a particularly low overpass. His swoop of coppery hair barely clears the beam each time.
He seems taller than his 1.91m frame. (That’s more than two metres on Hinge.) Perhaps it’s because of the size of the rest of him: with even the slightest movement, at least a dozen muscles visibly activate. Or perhaps it’s because his identity has been so fused with that of former military police officer Jack Reacher, whom Ritchson plays on Amazon Studio’s hit series Reacher.
The character is famously enormous. His creator, author Lee Child, dryly explains that Reacher follows a long tradition of male writers making their heroes one inch taller than they are— Child is six-foot-four (1.93m). Size is so central to the character that when noted short king Tom Cruise played Reacher in a film adaptation, he was met with skepticism. Child says, “There was a huge amount of pushback from the book fans and so on, saying, No, we need a man mountain here.”
Ritchson makes everyone and everything around him seem dainty. When he’s done posing for photos, we adjourn to a den and squeeze onto a slightly-too-small love seat. On his left wrist, he wears a thick Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Offshore watch. On his right wrist, two silver bracelets, one sparkling with gemstones, move fluidly over a tattoo of a lotus flower. Around his neck, he wears a silver chain with two rings. So bejewelled, he toes a dangerous sartorial line between rock-star pastor and off-duty celebrity, but his face—the cologne-ad glower, the total symmetry, the strong cleft chin— marks him as the latter.
Denne historien er fra May - June 2024-utgaven av Men's Health South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May - June 2024-utgaven av Men's Health South Africa.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
The Last 7 Recipe You'll Ever Need
FADS COME AND GO. BUT GOOD EATING AND PROPER NUTRITION CHANGES VERY LITTLE. SO WE COMBED THROUGH ALL THE RECIPES IN MEN'S HEALTH'S 36-YEAR HISTORY TO FIND THE ONES THAT TRULY DELIVER ON BOTH FLAVOUR AND FUNCTION.
The Changing Face Of Cancer
While cancer rates are falling in older adults, they're increasing among younger age groups. It's a trend exposing holes in both diagnosis and care. It's also raised a new question for experts: how do you get vital and potentially life-saving information to people unaware they need it?
AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 ADVENTURES
YOUR TIME OFF IS VALUABLE. TO BOOK YET ANOTHER FLY 'N' FLOP IS TO DO YOURSELF A DISSERVICE. THIS YEAR, BREAK FREE FROM THE POOLSIDE BAR AND GET YOUR KICKS IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS. FROM EXPEDITIONS IN FAR-FLUNG PLACES TO HIGH-OCTANE WEEKENDS CLOSER TO HOME, CONSIDER THESE YOUR FIRST STEPS OFF THE BEATEN TRACK.
4 WAYS TO REBOOT YOUR MINDSET
STRESSED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD AND/OR YOUR SANITY? WE'VE GOT FOUR SIMPLE BUT ESSENTIAL TOOLS TO HELP YOU ADAPT AND OVERCOME, THIS YEAR AND BEYOND.
TRAIN TO YOUR MAX
Cardiorespiratory fitness is one of the most important health markers when it comes to your overall wellbeing. Here's how Discovery Vitality Fitness gives you more ways than ever to fire up your engine.
SLUSH FUN
FROZEN DAIQUIRIS ARE REFRESHI AND ALSO SICKENINGLY SWEET. TRY A FROZEN PIMM'S CUP, WHICH HAS ALL THE FLAVOURS WITH WAY LESS SUGAR.
THE HEALTH SNOB'S GUIDE TO COLD-BREW COFFEE
BOTTLED COFFEE MIGHT BE ABUNDANT, BUT CAFFEINE AFICIONADOS MAKE THEIR OWN. FOLLOW THESE TIPS TO PREP A HEALTHY BREW FOR A REFRESHING PERK-ME-UP.
SUPP CHECK RECOVERY PACKAGE
COLLAGEN IS TOUTED AS THE GO-TO SUPP FOR BONE, SKIN AND JOINT HEALTH, PLUS FAST INJURY REPAIR. BUT DOES IT DELIVER? TIME TO GEN UP.
THE SEMI-COMPLETE USER'S GUIDE TO...THE SINUSES
FOR AS LONG AS sinuses have been around, aka forever, there has been a ton that scientists haven't figured out about them.
BULLISH
The Blue Bulls scrumhalf Embrose Papier is striving for greatness. Here's how he's putting in the right reps to make sure mind and muscle are firing in unison.