After eight episodes of shocking plot twists, nail-biting fight scenes, and a whole lot of Alan Ritchson‘s abs, Reacher Season 3 has finally come to an end — and DECIDER recently caught up with actor Anthony Michael Hall, who joined the third installment of the hit Prime Video series, to break down that enthralling season finale.
Warning: this interview contains spoilers for Reacher Season 3. Read at your own risk.
Hall plays Zachary Beck, a wealthy gunrunner hiding behind the guise of his Maine-based rug-importing business. When the evil Julius McCabe (Brian Tee) takes over his shipping routes — and, ultimately, his life — Beck knows early on that there’s no way of getting out of his situation alive. At the same time, his awkward son Richard (Johnny Berchtold), whose ear had been hacked off by McCabe in a gruesome attempt to gain leverage over Beck, yearns for a relationship with his estranged father — even going as far as to hunt down an old cap gun Beck owned as a child to gift him for his birthday.
But just as quickly as the father-son duo begins to make amends, they are torn apart when McCabe sends multiple rounds of bullets into Beck’s chest in the Season 3 finale.
“It’s a sad twist, right?” Hall said when he stopped by DECIDER’s studio. “But I think it’s beautiful because in a classical drama, there’s always a death. So the fact that he dies for his son, essentially, is really powerful.”
The other layer to the story is Jack Reacher’s (Ritchson) thirst for vengeance against McCabe (otherwise known as Xavier Quinn), who had brutally murdered his young protégé years earlier. While trying to execute his plan, Reacher comes the closest he ever has to losing a fight as he faces McCabe’s 7-foot Russian henchman Paulie (Olivier Richters) in a high-stakes battle that lasts nearly half the episode — and took “about three weeks” to shoot, according to Hall.
“It was a big one,” he added, noting that the scenes were taken directly from Lee Childs’ novel Persuader. “It’s very true to the novel. There are huge excerpts that are adapted directly from it. It was really impressive — and to see how we all fit our roles based on Lee Childs’ image and his version and vision of the original novel.”
When Hall visited our studio, he talked more about his villainous role in Reacher, Ritchson’s American Idol audition, the SNL 50th celebration, and more. Check out the full interview below.
DECIDER: I’m loving this season of Reacher and I think you are so great in this role. I imagine pitches come across your desk constantly for different projects, so what was it that made you say yes to this one?
ANTHONY MICHAEL HALL: Well, thank you, Samantha, it’s great to be with you … It’s great to be here at Decider. You know what? This came about because I actually connected with Nick Santora, the great creative showrunner, and he’s a brilliant guy. He’s a guy that started out as a lawyer and very much like David Kelly, created an incredible life for himself as a showrunner and executive producer.
So, Nick was kind enough to take a meeting with me and he told me that they had me in mind in the writers room to play the part. And then I did a customary screen test anyway. And it went from there. And it was a great opportunity. So I went last summer to Toronto. And then we had the actor strike, of course. And then that put like a four-month block in there. And so we resumed in November and we shot until [the] beginning of last summer. So it was the show that took a year to make, pretty much. But it was a great experience.
And it’s all paying off because it’s the No. 1 show on Prime Video right now, right?
Yeah. That’s awesome. It’s great news. I just found out the numbers. I think it’s reached 54.6 million people. Incredible. Grateful.
As we know, so much of your early Hollywood career was rooted in comedy. Do you enjoy getting to play darker roles like the one you play in Reacher?
I do. When I was growing up, Samantha, a lot of my favorite actors still are, like, Jack Nicholson or even Christopher Walken, people that could go light to dark. But it’s also, I think, important to inject some humor into the character. So when I play villains, it is a lot of fun. You can kind of just really go for it and let it all hang out and then hopefully insert some humor and some lighter moments too.
When the season starts, we’re led to believe Beck is the antagonist. But as it progresses, we learn that Xavier Quinn, otherwise known as Julius McCabe, is the true bad guy. But that doesn’t mean Beck’s record is squeaky clean, either. Would you consider him a villain?
Oh, definitely. I mean, he’s a gunrunner it’s ultimately revealed, as you said, and he’s sort of exposed. But there’s also a ticking clock to it, which makes it really interesting. Because the guy’s living like The Great Gatsby at the beginning and you think, “Actually, wait a minute, this guy can’t be just a rug-importer. He’s doing too well.” So it was really a great role, very dynamic. And then there’s a great arc that Nick gave me, which comes from the book, which is this kind of sad relationship he has with his son. He’s kind of estranged from his son. And having had just had my son last summer, it really gave me food for the work. I knew what it felt like to be a father and to love your son, you know? So that was a really interesting thing about it for me, playing a villain, but also having this other dynamic unfold. [It’s] just a great show, such a great team we had up in Toronto, and I’m just really grateful to be a part of it.
Beck finally has this emotional breakthrough with his son in Episode 7, which was such beautiful acting from both of you.
Thank you. I haven’t seen it. I’m glad you think so.
It was great! What did you think about that scene? Why was that so important to the evolution of your character?
Well, kind of for the reasons we just touched upon. I grew up in my own life without my biological father. Then my mother remarried and I had a great father, my stepfather, who adopted me. I could say that I’d actually experienced both of my life. I came from a single mom, and at the same time, a nuclear family with my father and my sister being born after they got married. So that was just really interesting to draw upon that stuff, you know? But I also felt like in my own life I had been what Richard was, too. I was kind of curious about my own father. I didn’t actually meet him until I was about 22 years old. And that’s a whole other story. But it was really interesting to be able to delve and draw from your own life and give it to the work. And that’s one of the things I try to do. So it was a really great role for all those reasons. But he is a criminal. He’s a gunrunner, for sure.
He’s a very layered man.
Yeah! Layered. That’s a nice way of putting it.
You share a lot of scenes with Alan Ritchson, who plays Jack Reacher. What was it like to work with him?
Yeah. He should hit the gym, by the way. That kid, I think he needs to work out.
Nice guy. I enjoyed working with him. He’s a family man. Very nice guy, very invested in what he’s doing, and that was really appreciated. Because 20 years ago I had a series called The Dead Zone and that ran for five years. So I learned firsthand what it takes to really have a leadership position. And it really makes you work harder. And you really have to ingratiate yourself to others and really take the lead and be responsible in new ways. So I could really relate to that. It’s nothing I discussed with him, but I could see, I was experiencing it from those eyes. It’s interesting.
Have you ever seen his American Idol audition? If so, what did you think of it?
Yes! I did see that. I thought it was hilarious. I thought it was really funny. Paula Abdul was certainly enamored with him. Yeah, that was really funny. You know, I thought that was great.
It’s such a random little thing. I would never think.
Yeah, yeah. No, he’s actually a good singer too. I’ve heard him sing and on other stuff. He’s interesting. He’s a cool guy. I like him a lot.
What do you think about the calls for him to play Batman?
Yeah, I read that, that he’s willing to do it for free. That’s cool. Well, shit. I’ll play the Riddler for free then. Let’s go.
Let’s put it out there!
Yeah. I think that’s a cool thing. I mean, listen, I worked with Tim Burton years ago on Edward Scissorhands … He’s an incredible director. I love that first [Batman] because I was a young man at that time, watching the one in the ‘80s. Actually, my favorite moment of that is when Jerry Hall leans over to Jack’s shoulder and he’s looking in the mirror and she’s like, “Jack, you look so great.” And Jack Nicholson goes, “I didn’t ask.” That was one of the funniest moments ever. I think it’s a great idea. I think, look, he would be a great Batman if he wants to do it for free. Or not. I’m sure he won’t have to.
Probably not. One person who just makes everyone around him look so small is Olivier Richters, who is over 7-feet tall. What was your first impression of him?
Well, first of all, those guys were just eating all day. People were just handing them tuna and bowls of food and everything. He was a great guy, really nice guy, and truly a gentle giant. Very nice man. Also, there were actually two babies that came during the making of Reacher. My son turned a year old and he and his wife had a baby girl. So there were some babies that came with Season 3. It’s been really wonderful. But nice guy. He actually has a business overseas where he lives in Holland, like an Amazon type of business, where they provide food and stuff. But really interesting guy. Yeah, I really liked working with them. And very nice guy, too.
So he’s not as intimidating as his character.
No, just the opposite. He’s a big teddy bear. But to see a grown man walk through a door and actually have to lower his head to go through the doorway, you’re like, “Wow, dude. Amazing.” But he did a great job. And Brian Tee — I want to shout out Brian, too. He’s a wonderful actor. I really got to know Brian a little bit. Really nice guy, too.
So much of this show has such great stuntwork. Did you ever wish you got to do more of that in your role?
Yeah. But it was so funny because suddenly you find yourself as the old guy on set. Here I am in my late 50s, like, okay, I’ll leave it to those guys. It’s okay. I have done a lot of action stuff over the years and I do love it. I love throwing my body into stuff. I remember I did a Western with Mickey Rourke and Danny Trejo about 10 years ago and that was a lot of fun. I was riding horses and shooting guns. I like doing fight scenes, too. I’m a big fight fan.
Speaking of stuntwork, Reacher and Paulie’s fight basically lasts almost half of Episode 8.
And I’ll tell you, they shot it for about three weeks. It was a big one.
Were you on set those days? What did you think of that scene?
I was not, because I actually wrapped right before they shot that episode. And I remember it was like the whole episode, they took weeks to shoot it. So I’m looking forward to seeing it.
One of the things that’s really interesting, too, is it was from the book Persuader. I wasn’t really familiar with Lee’s work and it’s been an incredibly successful series, as you probably know, [there are] like 28 or 29 books, I think he’s written. But I did read Persuader and I worked with it during the making of the season. And it’s very true to the novel. It’s very much there’s huge excerpts that are adapted directly from it. So it was really impressive — and to see how we all fit our roles based on Lee Childs’ image and his version and vision of the original novel. So I think Nick Santora and our whole team, Mick Betancourt, everybody involved just did a beautiful job. They really did. And it’s just total pros. And I love working with Amazon MGM. It’s cool.
In the season finale, your character is unfortunately shot and killed. Can you walk us through what that looked like behind the scenes?
Oh, interesting. Right, with the gun. It’s a sad twist, right? Because it’s the gun he kept from childhood and then he winds up meeting his own demise. But I think it’s beautiful because in a classical drama, there’s always a death. So the fact that he dies for his son essentially is really powerful. And another scene that really came to mind was that sort of Russian roulette scene. That was intense. We had to work hard on that — all of us, the whole crew. I always look at it like just a crew. No cast and crew. It was all of us in there doing that very intense scene. And it was a night shoot. So [there were] additional challenges to really keep the energy up. But there’s some powerful scenes. I hope audiences enjoy it and appreciate it.
They were very powerful. That scene when your character dies is so heartbreaking because it comes just as you’re starting to see his humanity.
I appreciate that. Yeah, that’s a testament to Nick and the writers. I mean, he has great taste. Like I said, he drew heavily from the Persuader book. But yeah, that’s a powerful arc. A guy that’s trying to redeem himself to his son, who’s trying to seek self-redemption and self-forgiveness and also forgiveness from his son. So the fact that they start to go in the right direction and then his life is cut short, it’s powerful.
Also, I love the symbolism of him using the fake gun. But in my head, I’m like, “There are hundreds of real guns just in that office he could’ve grabbed!”
There are, right? And then in my office there were literally 200 guns on the wall. Yeah, that blew me away. When I got to set, I remember walking on that set and I’m like, “Wow, Amazon MGM — they’re not messing around.” It was such a beautiful set. And I was like, “Wow, this is my office?” I would hang out there and rehearse by myself. I’d be in that room working on it. But [it was a] great experience.
I can’t end this interview without bringing up the fact that The Breakfast Club turned 40 last month.
Wow! I’m getting old, Samantha.
I know you caught up with most of the cast last month — and for the first time, the entire cast will be together in Chicago this spring. What’s it like to be part of something that’s still so beloved after all these years? And how are you feeling about reuniting with everyone?
I’m so grateful for it. I wouldn’t be sitting here with you if not for John Hughes. I’m a big fan of that saying, I think it was Isaac Newton, “We’re all standing on the shoulders of giants.” And the giants in my life, unquestionably, were John Hughes, Harold Ramis, Matty Simmons, Lorne Michaels — these people that saw something in me as a child, as a kid. I was just a kid, you know? So it’s really beautiful. And the fact that that one is held up over time is amazing because I think it has a beautiful underlying statement to it that people really connect to it. It’s also sort of an anti-bullying message in a way. But the idea that we’re all more alike than we’re different is a really powerful and resonant message. And I think that’s what the film offers. It’s a real gift. And so I think it’s interesting, too, when people watch it, they project, they see themselves in one or two of the characters. And it’s really interesting that the movie’s become group therapy, I think, overall over the years. But the fact that John Hughes’s work still finds younger generations, I’m just so grateful for it. And for him.
It’s definitely one of my favorite movies. I can’t think of a sleepover in middle school and high school where it wasn’t played. But Weird Science is also turning 40 this year. Do you have any plans to celebrate that milestone?
Am I 100 yet? I have all these movies turning 40.
It was a busy handful of years!
Yeah, exactly. It’s good to be here. It’s good to be anywhere at my age. You know, it’s an amazing feeling, I tell you. Like, Vacation, same thing a couple of years ago, turned 40. I’m just filled with gratitude. I think a lot of times some people in our industry might try to create the perception like they chose this — and I think these things choose you. So I’m just grateful to God that the gift is the longevity. And that was something that was really my goal and intent. Even as a young man working with John Hughes, I remember thinking to myself, like, “I want to keep going with this. I’m never going to give up, and I just want to keep fighting through.”
There’s another movie I want to ask you about that I only saw recently. Johnny B Good.
I owe you a few dollars on that one.
Well, when that movie came out, some critics argue that the recruiting scenes were maybe too outlandish or unbelievable. But there’s so much talent in that movie — you, Robert Downey Jr, Jennifer Tilly, Uma Thurman — and those outlandish scenes certainly seem less so when viewed through today’s lens now that all these college players are getting so much money to come play for these schools. What do you remember from filming that movie? And do you think maybe it’s time for a reevaluation?
That’s a great point. When you first asked that question, the first thought I had was like, “Oh, well ask a football player. Ask anybody that’s gone and been recruited by a great college.” I think you’re right. Maybe it’s kind of light after all these years, you know, because your hear a lot of crazy stories about [that]. We know what a big business college football is and, of course, NFL.
I just have great memories of shooting that film. Downey refers to it as Johnny B Movie. And I’m like, “Screw you, Iron Man.” So I love it. I have a lot of laughs when I think back on it. There was another interesting connection [with] that film. The gentleman who directed it was a great editor who’s no longer with us. The late, great Bud Smith. And Bud had actually worked with Robert Downey Senior in a lot of films in the ‘60s. So he’s an editor that became a filmmaker and was very close with both the Downeys. So I was really happy when Bud directed the film. We had a lot of fun shooting that in Texas all those years ago. I was a young man then.
We mentioned Robert Downey Jr. and I read somewhere that you guys had something in the works. Are there any updates on that?
Yes, we’re developing a series. It’s called Singularity and it’s something that Robert and I wrote together. They recently pulled in a great gentleman named Brad Falchuk. He’s married to Gwyneth Paltrow. Brilliant guy, really a smart guy. So our hope is that we’re going to set the show up and with Brad’s involvement now. He did a lot of great shows with Ryan Murphy and [he’s] just a super smart and really nice guy. I love Downey. I love Susan, his wife. They’re like family to me. And yeah, we want to get this series up and running. There was an interesting thing that happened. It was very much by accident, Samantha. After writing up numerous drafts a couple of years ago, we realized it was kind of shaping up, very accidentally, like Succession. And it was such a big show. So we had to kind of regroup and kind of reconfigure things. And then we brought Brad to the table. And yeah, I’m just excited to be working with those guys. So I’m looking forward to hopefully making that happen.
I can’t wait to see that.
Thank you. Yeah. It’ll be great. I would just love to work with Robert again.
You also attended the SNL 50th celebration. What was that like? Who were you most excited to reconnect with?
Gosh, it was just amazing, Samantha. First of all, the Friday night thing was a concert and was just incredible. Everybody — Cher, Eddie Vedder, and Post Malone with Nirvana. There were so many great acts. Bad Bunny. So my wife and I just loved it. We just sat there as fans. But I ran into so many good people. Bill Burr came up to me and he was great. It turns out he’s a fan of my stuff. He’s like, “You’ve got great comic timing.” I’m like, “Thanks, Bill Burr, can I shave your head for you?” He’s a great guy. It was really funny. I was actually on line to get a cocktail in between acts and I look over and I’m on line with Martin Short, Jason Momoa, and Alec Baldwin. I’m like, “Wow, this is a band of misfits here. Okay. We’re here. Okay. I’ll take the peanut M&Ms, please.” So it was just a great experience.
Then the Sunday night show was just amazing. I was a very small part of the show 40 years ago. And I just wanted to come back and salute Lorne and NBC and [I’m] just grateful for the experience. I took part in this documentary series recently, which they made to coincide with the 50th. But I’ll tell you, afterwards, at the end of the show, it was just incredible. I was talking to Adam Sandler and Will Ferrell and there’s Jack Nicholson, who I’d met as a young man. And I went up to him and said hello. And Mr. Spielberg, I mean, the whole industry was there, including all the great comics over the years, all the great cast members. So it was just a thrill.
It was really kind of like an out-of-body experience, to be honest with you. Because it was like a night of a thousand stars, as my publicist Jill Fritzo mentioned to me yesterday. And it was really incredible. So it was just a joy. And just to take pictures with everybody — I was a fan, you know, just hanging out with everybody. And then the party was at The Plaza and I got to introduce my wife to Meryl Streep and Lady Gaga. I mean, it was really a trip. It was really great.
That sounds like so much fun.
It was amazing. And then we had to go pick up my baby because he was staying uptown with my sister and my brother-in-law. So I felt like the worst dad ever. I picked him up at like 3 a.m. He’s looking at me like, “Why?”
And then you came right back down to earth.
Yeah! Exactly.
What’s next for you? Do you have any other exciting projects in the works? You’ve been in so much, in so many different genres, are there any chances we’ll see you in comedies again?
I appreciate that. Thank you. Well, yeah, I mean, I have a couple things I’m excited about. I have a production company called Manhattan Films, which is because I was raised here and I consider the city my great teacher. We just released our second film. It’s called Roswell Delirium. [It’s a] really cool sci-fi drama. I produced that film with a great filmmaker named Rick Bakewell, who wrote it. I also just wrapped a film called Halloween Store. Now, this ties to SNL. It was produced by Kenan Thompson and his partner, who’s a guy named Johnny Ryan Jr. And they have a company called Artists for Artists and they’re doing great stuff. So I was just in Hawaii shooting this horror film, which was the first horror film I’ve done since Halloween Kills. I had a great experience on that. I love those guys. So we’re going to be doing some other stuff together.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Reacher Season 3 is currently streaming on Prime Video.
The post ‘Reacher’ Star Anthony Michael Hall Talks Season 3 Finale’s “Sad Twist”, Alan Ritchson’s ‘American Idol’ Audition, And That Insane Fight Scene That Took “Three Weeks” To Film appeared first on Decider.
