Alan Ritchson’s life from height and American Idol to his ‘existential crisis’(Image: NETFLIX)
Alan Ritchson is famed for starring in Prime Video’s Reacher but is now grabbing fans’ attention for War Machine on Netflix.
Dropped last week, War Machine on Netflix is about an isolated group of soldiers who face an “unimaginable” threat during their final test into the US Ranger regiment.
They must do anything they can to survive with engineer 81, portrayed by actor Alan Ritchson, trying to lead everyone to safety.
As the 43-year-old returns to our screens, here’s all there is to know about the War Machine actor’s personal life.
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Childhood
Alan Ritchson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and was the middle child of three brothers, to his parents David and Vickie.
His dad served in the Air Force so the family often had to go move around, leaving Grand Forks to live in the US territory Guam, before moving to Illinois and later on Florida.
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Wherever they went though, the family carried their strong Catholic faith with them as they attended daily mass, with Alan spending time as an altar boy and a music minister.
American Idol
Actor Alan Ritchson auditioned for American Idol season three. (Image: FOX)
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After he left his modeling days behind, Ritchson attempted to pursue a music career through the hit show American Idol.
He had a failed audition in season two but returned for season three, performing Stevie Wonder’s You Are the Sunshine of My Life and sailed through to the next round.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as he would go as Ritchson was cut from moving any further in season three which was later won by Fantasia Barrino.
Height
Ritchson found success when he was cast in Prime Video’s 2022 thriller series Reacher, based on the Lee Child book series of the same name.
In the books, Reacher is described as standing at a whopping 6ft 5in with “biceps like basketballs” and “hands the size of dinner plates”.
While Ritchson isn’t as tall as the character he portrays, he is very close to the height needed for Reacher at 6ft 3in.
Speaking to Swedish YouTube channel Kinowetter, Ritchson said: “There was a lot of effort put into finding a Reacher that fit the description.
“A lot of that is out of my control so the stars just happened to align for me, I happened to be the right size, come available at the right time and it all worked out so I come at this with a lot of gratitude.”
Actor Alan Ritchon has been married to his high school sweetheart Catherine since 2006. (Image: GETTY)
Mental health
When Ritchson was 36 years old, he was going through an “existential crisis” and made a suicide attempt.
Following the incident, he spoke to his doctor who later diagnosed the actor with bipolar disorder and now says that mental health is an “everyday conversation” for him.
In the years that followed, Ritchson started getting tattoos to tell the story of his life, including one with two overlapping masks the ancient Greeks used to represent both comedy and tragedy.
“Being bipolar has wreaked havoc on my life many, many times”, he admitted to The Hollywood Reporter.
“I would wish it away if I could, but it’s so much a part of who I am now that I should celebrate it a little or, at least, accept it.”
Wife
When it comes to his love life, Ritchson hasn’t had a problem as he met his wife Catherine Ritchson at a Florida ballet class while they were still at school.
The pair briefly dated in the early years of their relationship but they reconnected in 2004 and went on to get married in May 2006.
He now shares three children with the financial analyst, Calem, Edan and Amory, with the star describing Catherine as his “biggest cheerleader”.
War Machine is available on Netflix.
