Joe Manganiello has opened up about almost leading the hit action series Reacher, revealing that his team suspected Tom Cruise may have played a discreet role in costing him the part.
Writing in his newly released memoir Bloodlines, Joe shared that he was initially the unanimous choice among producers to play the towering former military investigator. Following an hour-and-a-half meeting with Skydance producer Don Granger in early 2020, Don reportedly told him: “You are the closest thing to Jack Reacher that I’ve ever met in my entire life.” Both Skydance owner David Ellison and author Lee Child were reportedly thrilled with his test.
However, the casting process took an unexpected turn when studio executive Jen Salke stepped in to assess alternative contenders. After undergoing another screen test, Joe was ultimately passed over, with Alan Ritchson landing the role in late 2020.
Left without a clear explanation for the abrupt change, Joe admitted that those around him began exploring other theories. “Jen wouldn’t let them go with me,” Joe wrote. “She never gave a reason and never communicated with anyone as to why, which gave way to a thought from my team that maybe Tom Cruise, who was listed as an executive producer because he had starred in the previous film adaptations, could have potentially come in over the top and vetoed my being cast on account of Sofía.”
Tom famously portrayed the character in two feature films and briefly dated Joe’s now ex-wife, Sofía Vergara, in 2005. Reflecting on their past, Joe noted: “She said she had broken up with him years before after refusing to take the E-Meter test at the L. Ron Hubbard Celebrity Centre for Scientology.”
While Joe acknowledged that “it was all just speculation” and that Tom does not hold an official producing credit on the television series, the behind-the-scenes mystery remains one of the most intriguing what-ifs of his career.
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