Reacher star Alan Ritchson has revealed he was knocked unconscious while filming the show's epic season three finale.
Based on Lee Child's novel Persuader, the third instalment of the series saw Reacher (Ritchson) going undercover to investigate a dodgy rug import business, which was revealed to be a front for some very dodgy dealings.
In the finale episode, Reacher battled Paulie (Olivier Richters) in an brutal fight scene that left fans speechless. But while the showdown was coordinated, Ritchson shared the real-life consequence of performing his own stunts.
"The whole point is you just watch Reacher get ragdolled for five minutes straight," he told Entertainment Weekly. "And I was like, 'This is fun. I like that this is the idea for everybody right now.'
"And I get the bright idea to shoot a stunt in a way, because I was like, 'I want the audience to know that I'm doing this for us. I'm taking one for Reacher and we're all in this together,' and so I wanted the camera to come up and just stay on my face the whole time while I get smashed through a table on the barn floor."
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The star went against the advice of his team who highlighted the safety risks associated with the stunt.
"Everybody was like, 'You're going to get killed and we're not going to do that because it's going to hurt you too bad.' And so we're going to do it with a stuntman and a camera on the floor. And I was like, 'No.'"
After winning the "huge fight", Ritchson received a stern warning from his team, recalling: "Reluctantly, they're like, 'You better not die because we said you're going to die, and we tried to warn you.'"
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The scene saw Reacher violently slammed into a table, which the actor described as going "into the seventh circle of hell", leaving him unconscious for "a day and a half".
He explained: "When I came to, I had to tell my kids that I felt great, because they were on set, and I didn't want them to think that dad died and was going to not be okay. It was the worst few minutes of my life."
"That was three weeks we spent doing that fight," he added. "That was one, three-second beat in 28 minutes of content, just to give you an example of what my life was like for those three weeks. It was a hoot."
Reacher seasons 1-3 are streaming on Prime Video.
Divya is a freelance writer with experience in entertainment and lifestyle news. Described as a "telly addict" since childhood, Divya was able to translate her interests into a BJTC-accredited, Honours degree in Journalism and Media. After working in communications and marketing, Divya joined Digital Spy as a Freelance News Reporter. She has also written for various publications including Metro, Asian World News and TwitCelebGossip; as well as interviews, features and reviews on her own blog. Divya prides herself on her TV, film and showbiz knowledge, always offering (not so) fun facts to her long-suffering friends and family. From soaps to superheroes, Divya is the go-to person for tailored recommendations and up to date information.
