Reacher star Alan Ritchson's incredible transformation revealed after mental health struggles and addiction

Alan studied musical theatre in school, but he was bullied because puberty didn't start until much later for him. He threw himself into the gym as a teenager and was voted "best physique" of his graduating class.

After dropping out of college, Alan entered the world of modelling – which asked him to drop weight. "They made me feel like some kind of gross ogre at 205lbs," he once said.

He quit modeling, and after making it to the Round of 32 on American Idol season three he moved to LA and began auditioning for roles, getting a four-part arc on Smallville before his big break as a series regular on the 2010 college football comedy Blue Mountain State.

Alan went on to appear in Brooklyn 99, Blood Drive, and Titans, and his physique kept growing as he was cast in high-octane action movies, appearing alongside Megan Fox as he voiced Raphael in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Jennifer Lawrence in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.

But off-screen, his mental health was struggling. 

Alan has alleged that photographer Mario Testino sexually assaulted him during Paris Fashion Week; Mario was later the subject of a New York Times expose as 13 male assistants and models came forward with claims of sexual misconduct and coercion.

Mario has denied all allegations.

In 2018, Alan also alleged that a female colleague he was building a finance company with threatened to accuse him of sexual assault if he didn't sleep with her.

A year later, Alan attempted suicide. But his sons came to him in a vision, according to Alan, and asked him not to follow through.

In the vision, they were in their 30s and "told me that they wanted me to be here, alive and part of their lives." 

He has credited his strength as being the reason he could pull himself up before he lost consciousness, and he immediately called a doctor.

In the years that followed Alan and his wife Cat grew closer as they learned more about his bipolar diagnosis, and found methods to help him cope.

They tried MDMA – a proven PTSD treatment – together, and Alan credits the drug for "rewiring" his brain. 

He used it for a year or two as therapy, and has acknowledged he became addicted, but has since stopped.

During this time, Alan was cast in Reacher as the titular character, a role he knew would change his life. He gained 30 additional pounds to play the role with Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke admitting the team placed "a really high bar on that physicality."

Alan has spoken publicly about how his exercise routine destroyed his body, forcing him to begin taking Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT)

"I had none by the time I was done with season 1, due to the stress and the fatigue and what I had done to my body. For me, it’s a long game. I want to do Reacher for 15 years," he told Men's Health in 2024.

Reacher season four concludes on September 16 and has been renewed for a fifth season.

Alan has also broken his back twice performing stunts on other projects and now keeps his routine to continuous movement with minimal rest helps which helps reduce joint wear and tear.

After settling in Los Angeles with his family – they previously lived out of a campervan and Airbnbs as they traveled the country – Alan appears to have found a routine that works for him. 

In a video for Men's Health, he shared that he now tries to train five days a week for short, intense sessions of around 20 to 30 minutes of focused lifting.

But when asked by a fan what exercises he would recommend for someone who’s trying to lose weight and gain muscle but doesn't have gym equipment, he gave a succinct reminder of the importance of simply moving the body, not for physical looks but mental health.

"Our brain is a pump. Doing things like sit ups, crunches, squats, anything to squeeze our body, it pumps all kinds of good things in our brain and all kinds of bad things out of our brain. Just the motion alone helps," he said during a Reddit AMA.