Alan Ritchson is in for a macho match-up in Season 3 of Reacher.
CinemaBlend reports that Olivier Richters, an actor and bodybuilder who stands at 7 feet and 2 inches who is referred to as “The Dutch Giant,” has been cast in the Prime Video action series as Paulie. According to Richters’ Instagram, he weighs 353 pounds.
While Season 3 of Reacher, which is an adaptation of Lee Child’s Jack Reacher book series, was renewed in December 2023, the streamer confirmed in a January 2024 press release that the next installment would be based off of Child’s Persuader, which marked the seventh book in the series. In Season 3, “Reacher must go undercover to rescue an informant held by a haunting foe from his past,” per the press release.
More specifically, Reacher will head undercover to the castle lair of Zachary Beck (played by Anthony Michael Hall) in Maine, per CinemaBlend. News of Hall’s casting broke in February, and his role is described as “a formidable and successful businessman” who is also “a widow and single father of a 20-year-old son, Richard,” per Variety.
According to the outlet, Beck, whose son is nearly kidnapped, fears his employers and depends on his bodyguards to protect his family, one of whom is the deranged bodybuilder Paulie (Richters), who Child describes as “a very big guy” who “was at least six inches taller” than Jack Reacher, “probably ten inches wider across the shoulder,” and “probably outweighed [Reacher] by two hundred pounds” in Persuader.
Hall shared the news of Richters’ casting to the outlet, and teased an impending standoff between Paulie and Ritchson’s Reacher.
“He reminds me of, do you remember when we were kids? The Spy Who Loved Me, the Jaws character that Richard Kiel played? He was a literal giant, like seven foot two,” he shared. “That character (Paulie) does live in the show, and they have an epic battle. I don’t want to give it away, but yeah, they definitely meet as they do in the book… You know, Reacher and Paulie colliding — there’s something Marvel about that, right? They’re like two superhero-sized guys, so it’s kind of cool.”
Richters most recently appeared in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as Hauke, and other credits of his include Knuckledust, Black Widow, and The King’s Man.
Seasons 1 and 2 of Reacher are streaming on Prime Video.
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