Alan Ritchson on How Keanu Reeves Almost Had a Role in Fast X

Ritchson explained to EW that when he was offered the role of Ames, the studio originally wanted Reeves to play the same part. “It was just a bit of luck and timing,” Ritchson explained. “I was in freezing Winnipeg shooting a movie with Hilary Swank when I got the call that their plans had changed with Keanu Reeves, who they originally thought was going to play me. It’s confusing. With Reeves no longer involved in the movie, the plan shifted to Ritchson. Still, Ritchson nearly lost his job due to “time issues,” but he ultimately landed the lead role in Reacher. “Basically the agreement was that if there were no issues and we didn’t get shut down because of COVID or the weather, it should work out. About two weeks later, we got word that we were going to have the biggest snowstorm in Winnipeg’s history,” Ritchson said. “All production was shut down. It was disheartening. I thought it would be over before it really started, but luckily we handled it well and were able to move the dates around a little bit… I’m very grateful that it worked out that way.”