Joe Manganiello: "Tom Cruise might have excluded me from Reacher"

Joe Manganiello was among the most accredited candidates to play Jack Reacher in the Prime Video series, but ultimately the role went to Alan Ritchson. In his recently published autobiographical book Bloodlines, the actor recounts how that opportunity slipped away and reveals a suspicion involving Tom Cruise.

During a meeting with Don Granger of Skydance Media in 2020, Manganiello had received very positive feedback. According to his account, Granger considered him particularly suitable for the character created by Lee Child. Showrunner Nick Santora, producer David Ellison, and Lee Child himself reportedly supported his candidacy.

The Possible Link to Sofia Vergara

At a certain point, the prospects changed. Manganiello recounts that his entourage came to suspect intervention from an executive producer who might have hindered his hiring because of Sofia Vergara, his wife at the time. The reference is to Tom Cruise, star of the two cinematic films dedicated to Reacher. In 2005, the actor had a brief relationship with Vergara. There is no evidence that Cruise actually interfered with the selection, nor is he credited as an executive producer of the television series.

In the book, Manganiello also points to Jennifer Salke, then head of Amazon Studios, as one of the figures involved in the tensions over the choice of the protagonist. The final choice fell on Alan Ritchson, who got the role after a failed first audition and a second opportunity that came eight months later.