Alan Ritchson

Biography:

American actor Alan Michael Ritchson was born on November 28, 1982. During the fifth through tenth seasons of The CW superhero series Smallville (2005–2010), he made his acting debut as Aquaman/Arthur Curry. From 2010 to 2012, Ritchson starred in the Spike TV sitcom Blue Mountain State, a role he later reprised in the 2016 movie sequel. In addition, he starred in the SyFy action series Blood Drive (2017). From 2018 until 2021, he made a comeback to superhero television as Hank Hall/Hawk on the DC Universe / HBO Max series Titans. Since 2022, he has been more well-known for his role as the title character in the action thriller series Reacher on Amazon Prime Video.

In addition to roles in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), Lazer Team (2015), and Fast X (2023), Ritchson portrayed Raphael in the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles revival and its 2016 follow-up. In 2021, he costarred in the action-comedy Dark Web: Cicada 3301 and made his directing debut.

Ritchson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on November 28, 1982. He is the son of David Ritchson, a former chief master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force, and Vickie Ritchson, a high school teacher.  Of his three sons, he is the second. Because of his father’s job, he and his family moved about a lot. They lived in Guam until he was two years old, at which point they moved to Rantoul, Illinois.  Ritchson’s father was moved to Eglin Air Force Base when he was ten years old, and the family moved to Niceville, Florida, which is close by. In 2001, he received his diploma from Niceville High School.

Ritchson participated in school musicals because he was interested in performing. He considered Jim Carrey to be his hero.  He began attending college-level dance and music theater classes while still in high school.  He attended the high school and Okaloosa Walton Community College, which is now Northwest Florida State College, as a dual enrollment student from 1999 to 2001.

He received a full scholarship at Northwest Florida State College to pursue theater arts and music after high school. He was a member of the Madrigal Singers and Soundsations of the Fine Arts Division. He left school, nevertheless, “because [he] didn’t feel fulfilled” after two years.  Before he got a contract with Next Management in Miami to work as a model for a few years, he briefly worked at a gas station.