Fast & Furious Star Admits He’s Never Seen Any Of The Movies

Alan Ritchson, prior to starring in Fast X, had only watched the original Fast & Furious.

By Sean Thiessen
| Published 6 mins ago

Some things are best left unsaid. Reacher actor Alan Ritchson revealed in an interview on The Rich Eisen Show that, before landing his part in Fast X, he had only ever seen the franchise’s first entry. To his regret, he revealed that fact to the Fast film’s biggest star, Vin Diesel.

“I go, ‘Hey man, I hadn’t really watched any of them. I watched the first one in high school, and now that I got the part I’ve seen them all, and I just love what you’ve been doing with the last two decades,’” Ritchson said of his conversation with Vin Diesel. “And he was like ‘I…thank you. I appreciate that.’” 

After Alan Ritchson walked away, he realized his faux pas. The actor aired his guilt to Eisen, saying of Diesel, “He’s spent 20-plus years of his life, this is his baby!” Ritchson continued, “I’ve spent a couple years working on Reacher. It’s such a fixture in my life, if somebody was like, ‘Thanks for having me on Reacher, man, I haven’t watched any of them,’ I’d be like, ‘You’re the stupidest…why would you say that?!’ And this dude is decades in. I’m an idiot.”

Alan Ritchson described his experience watching the original The Fast and the Furious when he was in high school as “transcendent.” To him, it was a leap forward in the action genre and a cult classic that did not need to continue. He then watched the rest of the films in the Fast Saga upon getting his part in Fast X, and he got on board with the hype.

The Fast franchise has grown and evolved from a relatively grounded street racing story into a series of bombastic, over-the-top action adventures. Alan Ritchson expressed gratitude for entering the story at the time he did but also recognized that the bar was high.

Not only do the Fast films push the boundaries of absurdity with their heart-pounding action sequences, but each one boasts even more stars than the last. In Fast X, Alan Ritchson joins Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson, Michelle Rodgriguez, Ludacris, Jason Statham, Charlize Theron, Jason Momoa, Brie Larson, Sung Kang, John Cena, Helen Mirren, and more.

The roster is beyond stacked for the franchise’s tenth film (eleventh counting the spin-off Hobbs & Shaw). Fast X is the first film in the saga’s finale, which was recently expanded from a two-part adventure to a three-film conclusion. Upon seeing Fast X, Universal Pictures reportedly requested more from the Fast team before hanging it up.

Alan Ritchson used the rest of his interview to praise his Fast X co-stars, joking that he could take any of them. He zeroed in on John Cena, who he described as being one of the kindest people he had ever met.

Ritchson also joked about his jealousy of Jason Momoa’s Aquaman suit. Alan Ritchson played Aquaman on a few episodes of The CW’s Smallville in the late 2000s. Momoa’s costume as the DC character was a sleek and scaly suit of armor; Ritchson’s looked more like Under Armour.

Alan Ritchson is expected to return for the next Fast & Furious film. He is also set to reprise his leading role in Reacher, Amazon’s lauded take on Jack Reacher. Critics and audiences ate the first season up for its balance of humor, wit, and violent action sequences.

Ritchson will also join Henry Cavill in Guy Ritchie’s The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare and star alongside Hilary Swank and Amy Acker in the upcoming drama film Ordinary Angels.

Alan Ritchson has been in Hollywood for a long time, but the successes of Reacher and Fast X are giving the actor his overdue time in the spotlight. With more big projects on the way, this hulking and equally charming action star has the keys to success – as long as he can keep from offending his Fast & Furious family.