Actor Joe Manganiello, known for his work in True Blood and Magic Mike, has revealed a little-known episode from his career: he was very close to becoming the lead in Reacher, one of the most successful action series on Prime Video. The revelation appears in his memoir, titled Bloodlines, published on October 13, 2026.
The story is particularly relevant now because Manganiello not only details how he lost the role to Alan Ritchson, but also points to a possible intervention by Tom Cruise—star of the two Jack Reacher films that preceded the series—as a factor that may have influenced the final decision.
A favorite candidate to play Jack Reacher
According to Manganiello in his book, it all began in 2020, when Amazon was preparing the television adaptation of Lee Child's novels. The actor met with Don Granger, an executive at Skydance Media, to discuss the possibility of headlining the project.
According to his account, Granger was convinced that Manganiello possessed all the physical characteristics and presence necessary to bring the character to life, to the point of assuring him that he was the closest thing to Jack Reacher he had ever seen.
The actor also claims that other key figures on the project, such as showrunner Nick Santora, producer David Ellison, and author Lee Child himself, were also in favor of his casting.
The suspicion regarding Tom Cruise
Despite that initial support, negotiations fell through. In Bloodlines, Manganiello explains that his team entertained a particularly uncomfortable hypothesis: that an executive producer linked to the series might have vetoed his hiring due to his personal relationship with Sofía Vergara, to whom he was married between 2015 and 2023.
The actor writes that an executive producer could have intervened from above to block his casting because of that connection. The reference makes sense because Tom Cruise had a brief relationship with Vergara in 2005, years before she married Manganiello.
It is important to note that there is no public evidence that Cruise participated in the decision. He is also not credited as an executive producer on the Prime Video series, although he did produce the films in which he starred as Jack Reacher. Therefore, this is a suspicion recorded in the actor's memoir, not a confirmed fact.
Internal issues at Amazon Studios
The book also points to another possible cause for the rejection: internal tensions within Amazon Studios during the selection process.
According to Manganiello, Jennifer Salke, then head of the studio, was not satisfied with how the choice of the lead actor was being handled. The actor maintains that Salke felt she was being pushed to validate a decision already made by a predominantly male group of producers, of which she did not feel a part.
That internal friction, according to the actor's account, may have further complicated his candidacy, despite the support he claimed to have received from several creative leads on the project.
Alan Ritchson landed the role
Ultimately, the character of Jack Reacher went to Alan Ritchson, a choice that has proven to be a great success for the series over time.
Ritchson himself explained in an interview with Empire magazine that the casting process was very demanding and lasted more than a year. In his first attempt, he was rejected, just like other candidates. Eight months later, with a new casting director and a different script, he finally managed to land the role.
Since the series premiered in 2022, Ritchson has firmly associated his image with that of the former military policeman created by Lee Child. The production continues to expand, with a fifth season underway and a sixth already confirmed by Prime Video.
A career that took a different turn
It is inevitable to wonder what the series would have been like with Manganiello as the lead. The actor had the physique, the experience in action projects, and a presence that fit the description of the character in the original books.
Far from that role, Manganiello has continued his career in other projects, including the adaptation of One Piece, where he plays Mr. 0. Meanwhile, Ritchson has established himself as one of the most recognizable faces of the action genre on television.
The exact reasons behind Amazon's final decision will likely never be known with certainty. What is clear, through Manganiello's own account in his memoir, is that that 2020 meeting could have completely changed the course of his career.
