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Before Reacher, Alan Ritchson was almost the MCU’s Thor, but he lost the role due to a bad audition
Alan Ritchson was nearly the MCU’s Thor, and losing the role taught him a valuable lesson about ego
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This December, we will see the Avengers assemble once more in Avengers: Doomsday. Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, and numerous other Marvel Studios actors will share the screen for an epic adventure that spans the Marvel multiverse. However, if things had gone differently, it would be Reacher's Alan Ritchson joining Evans and Downey Jr. onscreen instead of Chris Hemsworth.
Back when Marvel Studios was casting the original Thor movie in 2009, Alan Ritchson was a favorite for the role. Ritchson was convinced he had the role in the bag, so he didn’t take the audition seriously. That mistake cost him the role, which went to Chris Hemsworth instead.
“I got terrible feedback,” Alan Ritchson told Josh Horowitz during a recent appearance on Happy Sad Confused. “It was constructive in the sense that the casting director felt like I was such a sure thing if I just had the craft, as she put it. And I didn’t show up that day ready. And it was less ‘is that so’ and more ‘this is never going to happen again.’ And sometimes we need that.”
Losing Thor taught Ritchson a valuable lesson about ego, and taking your craft seriously, vowing to never repeat the mistake he made during his Marvel audition. “The question is, [is] our ego going to get in the way,” he reasoned. “‘They don’t understand me! They don’t understand our art!’ I could’ve said anything, but I was like, ‘I’m never going to let that happen again.’ And I took a step back from the business to learn what the craft means, and man, am I better for it. So, I’m grateful for that tough day.”
Avengers: Doomsday is released December 18. The fourth season of Reacher is streaming on Prime Video now.
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