Across three seasons of Reacher so far, Alan Ritchson has been a part of some hectic car chases, some bloody gunfights, and some epic hand-to-hand brawls, with his titular ex-military vagabond coming out on top each and every time. With every encounter, Ritchson’s towering height re-justifies the decision to cast him in the role, which famously went to Tom “Shortstack” Cruise for the pair of movies. It can be easy to forget just how big the dude is, but his awkward workout post is a hilarious reminder.
Reacher Season 4 is currently in the throes of production, and thus won’t be making a return to the 2025 TV schedule, but fans are holding out hopes that the upcoming spinoff Neagley will arrive before 2026 does. (Check out what star Maria Sten recent said about it.) In the meantime, we’ll just have to make do with Alan Ritchson’s social media posts like the one below, in which he has a pretty heightened issue with his hotel gym.
Yikes! It looks like the Titans vet could barely stand up in there in his bare feet, much less while wearing shoes and stepping up onto exercise equipment. Even the skinnest treadmill would still likely mean Ritchson would be grazing his head against the gym room’s ceiling.
The text superimposed on the video, “Hotel gyms be like that,” is a pretty good indicator that this wasn’t Ritchson’s first time having to cock his neck at a wonky angle in order to get his workout on. It’s kind of amusing to think that there may be various hotels around the country (or world) where the ceiling is scuffed up where the actor’s sweaty head brushed up against it.
Maybe in Reacher Season 4, he’ll take on architects and construction workers who aren’t designing hotel gyms to be tall enough. Not exactly the best use of the man’s muscles and talents, but still.
Season 3 intentionally played up the character’s behemoth stature by casting Olivier Richters as the antagonist Paulie, who had little trouble going toe to toe with Ritchson, given his 7-foot, 2-inch height. As such, I don’t see the creative team trying to top that by hiring an actor who’s 7’5″ or whatever, so maybe a low ceiling will be the big bad in the new season.
Reacher is heading to Philadelphia for Season 4, which he previously boasted is one that viewers will need to check their heart health due to overexcitement. He even went above an beyond by getting a shiner during the first month or so of filming. I’d hate to see the other guy, though. Especially if the other guy is a low-hanging hotel gym ceiling.
The next time you find yourself with your head in the clouds, you just might see Alan Ritchson’s head also poking through. And guess what? He’s actually kneeling down.
