'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson underwent testosterone therapy after dramatic physical transformation
'Reacher' star Alan Ritchson underwent testosterone therapy after dramatic physical transformation
Connor McCroryThu, July 30, 2026 at 3:14 AM UTC
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Alan Ritchson says testosterone therapy saved his career -Credit:PRIME VIDEO
Alan Ritchson says the punishing physical demands of playing Jack Reacher left his hormone levels depleted and his shoulder in need of surgery, and that testosterone replacement therapy is what allowed him to keep going.
The 6-foot-3 actor made a dramatic physical transformation, packing on 30 pounds between landing the title role in Amazon Prime Video's adaptation of Lee Child's novels and its February 2022 debut, reaching about 235 pounds.
The rapid buildup, he has said, broke his acromioclavicular joint and drained his testosterone to nearly undetectable levels by the time cameras stopped rolling on the first season. This comes after an NBC News reporter explained why Alan Ritchson's alleged assault case is now 'closed.'
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A doctor recommended the therapy about a month after the first season wrapped. "Getting on testosterone was huge for me," Ritchson told Men's Health. "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."
Since the show's second season premiered in December 2023, Ritchson has used interviews with Men's Health, GQ, and Military.com to deliver a consistent message: the treatment is a medical intervention backed by bloodwork, not a cosmetic enhancement, and men over 40 should be aware of it.
A doctor recommended the therapy about a month after the first season wrapped. -Credit:NETFLIX
Ritchson has recounted a call from a Skydance Television executive after the first season, saying he had slimmed down too much, followed by a blunt note ahead of the second, "We're not happy with your size."
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With shoots running seven days a week, he said, maintaining a two-hour daily training routine was unrealistic.
The actor has acknowledged he "ravaged" his body during the original bulk, pushing through strained muscles and injuries without time to recover. He now trains about 30 minutes a day and says the therapy makes that maintenance approach sustainable.
He describes his dose as low and clinically supervised, and has flatly denied ever using anything approaching 600 milligrams a week.
The actor now trains about 30 minutes a day -Credit:GETTY
Ritchson has also confronted skepticism head-on, telling GQ he heard the treatment dismissed as "steroids with a doctor's note."
His response has been that the hormone was simply absent from his blood and needed to be replaced. He has been candid, too, that his transformation was not all lean muscle; he went from 205 to 235 pounds in eight months while "eating a tonne," a pace he said "shouldn't happen that fast."
Calling himself "a big advocate" for the therapy, particularly for middle-aged men, Ritchson frames it as much about mood and overall health as muscle. "I want to do Reacher for 15 years," he said. "I don't want to have to have surgery after every season, and testosterone helps."
Season 4 of Reacher premieres on August 12 on Prime Video.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
