Alan Ritchson says losing Aquaman was the best thing — Reacher proved it

Right, let’s have a quick wander down memory lane. Before Alan Ritchson was breaking faces as Jack Reacher, his first big splash (sorry) was back in 2005, turning up as Aquaman on Smallville. That particular episode didn’t just go down well—it actually broke ratings records for the series. You’d think that’d put him on course for his own spinoff, right? Well, the real story’s a bit of a car crash, and Ritchson’s now looking back on it with a sense of relief, surprisingly.

How Alan Ritchson Nearly Became Aquaman… and Didn’t

So, here’s the lay of the land. Ritchson lands the part of Aquaman on Smallville, barely knows what he’s doing (his words, not mine), and smashes it to the point where the network’s convinced he’s TV’s next blockbuster. Producers start sniffing around a full-blown Aquaman series with him in the lead role.

What happened behind the scenes for me was the best loss that I could have ever asked for; it was a blessing in disguise.

Looking back, Ritchson says his first time on set was complete chaos. He admits to being totally out of his depth, to the point the network hired him an acting coach. But that coach ended up locking horns with the director, leaving Ritchson even more befuddled. 'I was wholly confused the entire time... I didn’t know what I was doing, coasting on instincts.'

Apparently, at one point, execs at the old WB network were telling him he was 'going to be the next big thing.' Not exactly subtle, those TV types.

Network Shake-Ups and The Lost Pilot

Now here’s where it all goes sideways. The WB merges with UPN and immediately gains a new president who doesn’t care who’s who in the superhero zoo. Ritchson’s suddenly a nobody with no track record, yet somehow up for a title role. The new bosses are baffled: 'Who is this chap getting his own show with no CV behind him?' The plug gets pulled.

Until you’re in front of the camera… until it’s done and in the can and in front of audiences, nothing is a sure thing in this business. I learned to hold so loosely to every opportunity that came to where I would never get too excited, you know… It just [helped] me navigate this business in a more grounded way. And I learned that right out of the gate with a real tough loss.

• Alan Ritchson’s Aquaman episode aired in 2005 and broke records for Smallville.
• A spinoff was planned, but after The WB and UPN merged, the project was dead in the water.
• Justin Hartley—later of This Is Us fame—was eventually cast as Aquaman instead, and a pilot was shot. It never aired.

For Ritchson, the experience was formative, albeit in a roundabout way. He credits the collapse of his Aquaman career as the wakeup call he needed: basically, don’t count your superheroes before they hatch.

Now, years later, he’s the lead on one of Amazon’s biggest series, living proof that losing out on Aquaman was—astonishingly—the best thing that could’ve happened to him.