The hit Prime Video series, Reacher, first attracted viewers in part due to its amazing action scenes, which display a swift pace and look intense, realistic, and grounded. The show’s stunt coordinators and fight scene choreographers pull off exceptional work in highlighting star Alan Ritchson. The fight scenes in Reacher are shot so skillfully that it even appears that Ritchson performs much of the action and stunts in-camera. That begs the question: Does Alan Ritchson do all of his own stunts in Reacher? It’s time to explore how much action Ritchson performs in the iconic television series as we eagerly anticipate the release of Season 3.

Alan Ritchson Performs Some of His Own Stunts in ‘Reacher’

Image via Prime Video

One great thing about Reacher is that the series’ star, Ritchson, performs some, but not all, of the show’s major stunts and fight scenes. Ritchson informed The New York Post that one of the show’s impressive stunts he performed was the stunt where Reacher barrels through a sheet of glass during the Season 2 finale, “Fly Boy.” As Ritchson explained,

“I wanted to do the stunt, and I’ve never run through a plate of glass before. Every alarm in your body starts going off, like, ‘Please don’t do this to yourself!’ And I hulk-smashed right through that glass.”

Unfortunately, Ritchson was disappointed that it was hard to notice that he was the one performing the dangerous act. The actor noted, “When you watch it, I’m like, ‘What the hell?’ The camera was probably 45 miles away — it could have been a female stunt double, and you wouldn’t have known it was me running through glass! I had glass in my ears and hair for four days.” Nevertheless, the action scene depicting Reacher running through a sheet of glass looks awesome.

Ryan Tarran Joined ‘Reacher’ Season 2 as Alan Ritchson’s New Stunt Double

During a December 2023 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Ritchson revealed that one of the show’s big acquisitions in the second season was stuntman Ryan Tarran. Tarran is a veteran stunt performer and one of the best in the business, having worked on multiple major productions as the stunt double for Jason Momoa, including DC’s Aquaman. Tarran’s other blockbuster credits include Mad Max: Fury Road, Thor: Ragnarok, and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. Reacher bringing Tarran on board to handle the stunt scenes was a major coup for the production.

As Ritchson explained to THR, “I stole him from some of the best actors out there; I hope they’re mad about it. I hope they feel a sense of loss and regret and shame for letting him go.” Ritchson continued on the expertise Tarran brings to the fight sequences depicted in the show, “He stepped up the action that I’ve got — the specificity, the cleanliness of the fights — to a degree that doesn’t even compare to season one.” If viewers find a noticeable difference in the fight scenes for Season 2, much of that can be credited to Tarran.

In the same THR interview, Ritchson also joked that he does most of his own stunts anyway, while Tarran watches Ritchson perform the action scenes from behind the camera. Ritchson explained about Tarran, “I say good things about him, but dude never does anything for me. [laughs] He sits there and he eats Craig’s Cookies. Yeah, he doesn’t do anything, he just stands by the monitor and critiques my performances, ‘It’s not good enough!’ I’m, like, ‘Why don’t you get in there and do your f-ing job!’ And he’s like, ‘Because I don’t want to!'” While it’s yet to happen in the series, Ritchson revealed to ScreenRant that future fights he would like to stage in the show include “some good motorcycle stunts” and some “aerial skydiving fights.” Seeing Jack Reacher fighting bad guys while in a free fall in the air would certainly make for an exhilarating sequence.

‘Reacher’ Returns for Season 3 Later Next Year

Image via Prime Video

Unfortunately, Reacher viewers will have to wait until 2025 to watch the new season. The upcoming third season will reunite Ritchson’s Jack Reacher and longtime friend and former military colleague, Frances Neagley (Maria Sten), who also returns for Season 3. Based on Lee Child’s book, Persauder, Season 3 finds Reacher taking part in an undercover operation for the Drug Enforcement Agency to expose a drug smuggling ring controlled by Zachary Beck (Anthony Michael Hall). With a new setting of coastal Maine, plus the source material written from the first-person perspective (similar to The Killing Floor, which the first season was based on), the third season of Reacher could potentially have a wildly different narrative. Additionally, Amazon MGM Studios is looking to develop the first Reacher TV franchise spinoff with a new series based around Neagley.

Reacher Season 3 does not yet have an official premiere date. However, the smash-hit series is expected to make its dynamic return later next year. Until then, fans can check out the first two seasons on Prime Video in the U.S.