Alan Ritchson chiseled looks and towering muscular frame made him the perfect candidate to play Jack Reacher, but years before he landed the role, he was bullied for the way he looked.
The buff 42-year-old was a late bloomer and before he hit puberty he dealt with a health diagnosis that rocked his childhood.
The Reacher star had a tumor in his jawbone causing his chin to grow out at an angle.
© Getty ImagesAlan said he was teased for "looking like Jay Leno," and found himself on the receiving end of many hurtful comments.
"When you haven't hit puberty and you're 17 and you've got a face growing out of your face...it fortifies a sense of kindness that I'm grateful for," he explained to Men's Health.
© InstagramUndergoing surgery
"It's hard when something out of your control changes the way people treat you in your formative years," he added. "It taught me never to judge or look down on someone for things out of their control."
Alan had to undergo surgery to remove the tumor and shave down the bone.
© Getty ImagesHis teen years weren't all bad, however, as it's also a time in his life when he met his future wife, Catherine.
The pair attended ballet lessons together and it took Alan a while to buck up the confidence to talk to her.
High school sweethearts
© InstagramCatherine was 16 and Alan was 17 years old at the time.
After finding out from a friend that Catherine liked ice skating, he approached her.
He told Men's Health of the moment: "After the millionth time of us sitting next to each other, inches away, tying our shoes, so now it's super awkward, I was like, 'So I heard you ice-skate.'"
Alan added: "She was like the sweetest thing in the world."
Catherine was quickly smitten too and said during an appearance on The Road to Wisdom: "I'll never forget seeing him for the first time in the studio. I turned to my friend Miriam and I said, 'Who is that?'" she reminisced. "He, at some point, came up to me and we just got chatting."
Family life
© InstagramThey went on to tie the knot and have three boys, Caleb, Edan and Amory, together.
He's devoted to his family and has credited his love for them for helping him navigate his battle with bipolar too.
As a family, they made the decision to "live on the road," when he landed his role on Reacher.
"Being away from my family for long stretches on location was hard on them and me," he explained to the Wall Street Journal. "So Cat and I recently sold our Florida house and we now live in Airbnbs and hotels while I’m on set."
© Getty ImagesAlan said he's forever grateful for the support he has from his wife and wrote a heartfelt tribute on Instagram that read: "Thank GOD for someone with the unspeakable strength, persistence, resilience, patience, grace, love, compassion and forgiveness to suffer through the valleys with me."
