How Reacher's Alan Ritchson Helped Maxwell Jenkins Prepare To Play Young Jack

When author Lee Child created Jack Reacher, he didn't make things too complicated for himself. The ex-military policeman is known for not talking much, traveling from town to town, and being really big. Oh, and he's really good at fighting. And it turns out that's all you really need to create a massively popular character. The Jack Reacher novels are big enough to have spawned two Tom Cruise-led movies and a record-setting Amazon Prime Video series.

In the streaming sphere, "Reacher" has thus far proven as popular as the books, with fans finally getting a version of their beloved bruiser that looks like the guy from the novels. That was important to Child, who made clear early on that the 5-foot 7-inch Tom Cruise would not be returning as Jack Reacher, mainly because he's too small. And after a protracted audition process, the 6-foot 2-inch Alan Ritchson was brought in to front Prime Video's "Reacher," packing an extra 30 pounds onto his 205-pound frame to get as close as possible to the character's bulky 250-pound physique.

But even the hulk of a human that is Jack Reacher was a kid once. And when the writers needed to flesh out their main character's story in "Reacher," showrunner Nick Santora brought in Maxwell Jenkins to play a younger version. The 17-year-old grew up performing in his parents' circus, before switching to acting and starring as Will Robinson in Netflix's "Lost in Space." He's also shown up in movies, playing Gerard Butler's son in 2016's "A Family Man" and starring alongside Mark Wahlberg in "Joe Bell." And for his role as young Jack Reacher, he'd get help from Ritchson himself.

Season 1 of "Reacher" was all about absurdly fun action, with Alan Ritchson's itinerant hero often taking on entire gangs of enemies in brutal fight scenes that took months of preparation. But that didn't mean the eight episodes were devoid of any character development or exploration. Reacher reveals small details about his life throughout, whether it's telling Willa Fitzgerald's Roscoe about his experiences as a soldier in Baghdad, or reliving memories of his younger self hanging out with his brother, Joe.

In those flashbacks, Maxwell Jenkins portrays young Reacher as he stands up to bullies and generally projects the same quiet strength as Ritchson. And that was by design. Speaking to Pop Culturalist, the young actor said:

"Probably the biggest help in preparing for 'Reacher' was talking to [showrunner] Nick Santora and Alan Ritchson who plays Jack Reacher. Because I was Reacher in flashbacks, it was really important to be in support of Alan's creation. So we discussed the physicality of Reacher a lot. We concluded that Reacher was like a crocodile. He sits, listens, waits, and only moves when the time is right."

But Jenkins' prep went beyond chatting to Ritchson about Reacher's physicality. The 17-year-old also revealed that he watched dailies of the show, alongside Ritchson's audition videos, and tried to "study the way he moved and the expressions and gestures he used." After mixing those gestures into his own performance, the final piece of the puzzle was watching Lee Child interviews for some "background context."

For a 17-year-old, Maxwell Jenkins certainly seems to have a solid appreciation for the nuances of his craft. In an interview, he talked about how "flashback scenes can be few and far between, but when you do them you want to make sure you do them right because you're supposed to be playing this already established character." And with Alan Ritchson's help, it's clear Jenkins took the responsibility of playing an established character seriously.

In his Pop Culturalist interview, the "Lost in Space" star also provided his thoughts on why "Reacher" and the novels on which it's based have been so popular, saying:

"Lee Child has created an incredible world with his Jack Reacher novels. Nick Santora and the writers, directors, and main cast have adapted it beautifully and authentically, and I think audiences appreciate that. There's a reason these novels are so beloved. The stories are exciting. The characters are unique and fun to go on a journey with. I am proud to be even a small part of such a great series, and I hope I get to continue adding where I can to the Reacher story."

"Reacher" season 2 wrapped filming in February so we can expect the next run of episodes to drop on Prime Video soon. Whether the flashbacks will remain part of the show is yet to be confirmed, but Jenkins' scenes certainly add another dimension to a show that's mostly concerned with showing off how well Ritchson matches the physicality of Jack Reacher in the novels and showcasing unique combat choreography.