Why Pint-Sized Tom Cruise's Tiny Build Has Got Him SLAMMED By 'Jack Reacher' Author — Years After Fans Were Left Outraged by Star's Casting as Book Character Hardman
'Jack Reacher' fans weren't pleased with short Tom Cruise being cast as the main character.
Feb. 14 2025, Published 8:00 p.m. ET
Tom Cruise has been slammed by the author of one of his most-famous roles, Jack Reacher, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
British author Lee Child has ripped the action hero and claimed fans of his beloved series were "right" to be outraged over Cruise being cast as the main character in the 2012 film and its 2016 sequel, Jack Reacher: Never Go Back.
Cruise ruffled feathers when he landed the lead role in the Jack Reacher films.
Unlike Cruise's other action films, the Jack Reacher series didn't sit well with the audience as the actor failed to live up to his character's description.
Fans felt casting the 5-foot 7-inch star as the main character was a poor choice due to his short stature.
In the books, Reacher is described as "extremely tall" standing at an impressive 6-foot 5-inches – and is "extremely broad, long-armed and long-legged."
Author Lee Child agreed fans 'were right' that Cruise's size didn't match the character's description.
Years after many fans of the book objected to Cruise being cast as Reacher, Child broke his silence on the controversial decision in a recent interview.
He told The Independent "the readers, ultimately, were right" to call out the glaring physical difference between the 62-year-old and his character.
But Child did not think Cruise was a completely wrong choice, adding: "I thought the first movie in particular was excellent."
Child said TV series Jack Reacher star Alan Ritchson 'was born' to play the role.
He continued: "It was a really crisp hard-edged thriller. Working with Tom was a pleasure and a privilege – he's a really smart guy, he's a smart filmmaker, he's real fun."
Then, Child addressed the elephant in the room, saying: "But you cannot escape the fact that Reacher is a huge guy. I mean, that is a component in his entire approach to the world and the world's approach to him.
"He's huge, he's implacable, he's scary, and for all Tom's ability in getting the internals of Reacher out, he is not huge and he's not scary.
"So the readers were terribly upset about it and I think, ultimately, the readers were right."
The 6-foot 3-inch actor gained 30 lbs before filming to prepare for the role.
Outrage from fans was seemingly taken into consideration when the books were brought to life once again, this time in an Amazon Prime series.
Actor Alan Ritchson was cast as Reacher. While Ritchson, 42, is still not as tall as the fictional character, he stands a lot closer at 6-foot 3-inches.
The series premiered in 2022 and was an immediate hit with both fans and critics.
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Child also applauded Ritchson's portrayal of Reacher, saying: "Alan was born to play Reacher and I think he knows that."
Ritchson also took the role seriously and previously admitted he worked overtime to pack on pounds so he could live up to the vision of Reacher fans had in mind.
He said: "I was 205 lbs when I got cast. I was scraggly, scrawny. I thought I was big.
"I was always playing superheroes. I look back at those photos now, and I'm like, 'Oh my God, I look like a kid, like a marathon runner.'"
The actor said he needed to gain roughly 30 lbs by the time filming started.
He continued: "I had eight months to do it. I built a gym in my house, and I worked my a-- off. You cannot believe how hard I worked every day, like my life depended on it."
Ritchson spent around an hour or two in the gym each day and focused on his protein intake, adding: "And I did it without any help – no steroids, no testosterone, nothing.
"Just hard work. But it also killed me."
