Jack Reacher, the protagonist of no less than 15 Lee Child novels is described as being a hulking 6’ 5” tall, weighing 250lbs with ice-blue eyes and dirty blond hair.
He doles out Dirty Harry-esque justice to everyone in his path and has an unparalleled capacity for violence. But apparently casting directors “don’t know Jack” as Tom Cruise is in talks to take on the role. Given that we’ve got doubts of Cruise’s ability to wreck a children’s birthday party, here are 10 others we’d rather see play Reacher than Cruise.
To me Reacher sounds like The Punisher, Marvel’s take-no-prisoners unstoppable force, so who better to play him than a man who’s already familiar with that setup? All the adaptations of The Punisher have been pretty awful but how about we give Ray another go. He’s 6′ 4″, he looks as mean as they come and he’s had plenty of experience cracking skulls. Perfect.
Skarsgaard is 6’ 4, he’s got dirty blonde hair and blue eyes, but he’s a little bit willowy for Reacher. Stick him in the gym for 3 years and might be about right. He’s also proven himself to be a cold, calculating badass in shows like True Blood and Generation Kill.
Fassbender’s rangy rather than huge, but there’s a feral savagery lurking behind that calm façade. He’s easily the best thing about X-Men: First Class and has proved he looks good as a scruffbag in Centurion. The only thing is, he’s a busy man. With six films out in 2011 and three already for 2012, he’d be a hard one to pin down.
He’s rapidly rising up the ranks with films like Inception, Hardy has proved he can look physically intimidating as he played Charles Bronson in Nicholas Winding Refn’s biopic. He’s also bulking up significantly for his role as Bane in the forthcoming Dark Knight Rises and will soon be seen as an MMA fighter in Warrior.
He’s rough, he’s tough, he got stabbed in a bar this weekend and refused to go to hospital. That sounds like Reacher material to us. However, if Bean did play Reacher, he wouldn’t be allowed to wear armour and that might violate some hidden contractual agreements we’re sure he’s got with his agent.
He’s pretty good at playing rugged hobos and has had plenty of practice in The Road and Lord Of The Rings. He’s also demonstrated a surprising capacity for violence in GI Jane, Eastern Promises and er, A History Of Violence.
Blonde, blue-eyed, the size of a house after Thor. Also has a natty line in facial hair and scowling.
Icy blue eyes check. Blond hair check. Cracks skulls with the best of them. Check. Not a bad fit all told, but it’s unlikely that Craig could commit to playing another action hero so long as he’s tied up with the Bond franchise.
Well, she certainly kicks more ass than Tom Cruise, that’s for damn sure. Who would you rather face. A maddened gun-toting Moretz or Tom “Scrappy-Do” Cruise?
More vicious than Cruise and slightly less insane. “Oi, come back and finish me off ya wimp!” etc.
