ar Machine star Alan Ritchson's life from wife to height and American Idol audition
War Machine has landed on Netflix with Reacher star Alan Ritchson leading its star-studded cast.
Reacher: Alan Ritchson stars in Amazon Prime trailer
Alan Ritchson is renowned for starring in Prime Video's Reacher but is now capturing fans' attention for War Machine on Netflix.
Released last week, War Machine on Netflix follows an isolated group of soldiers who encounter an "unimaginable" threat during their final assessment into the US Ranger regiment.
They must do whatever they can to survive with engineer 81, played by actor Alan Ritchson, attempting to guide everyone to safety.
As the 43-year-old returns to our screens, here's everything there is to know about the War Machine actor's personal life.
Childhood
Alan Ritchson was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota, and was the middle child of three brothers, to his parents David and Vickie.
His father served in the Air Force so the family frequently had to relocate, departing Grand Forks to live in the US territory Guam, before moving to Illinois and subsequently Florida.
Wherever they went though, the family maintained their strong Catholic faith as they attended daily mass, with Alan spending time as an altar boy and a music minister.
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American Idol
After he left his modelling days behind, Ritchson attempted to pursue a music career through the hit show American Idol.
He had a failed audition in series two but returned for series three, performing Stevie Wonder's You Are the Sunshine of My Life and sailed through to the next round.
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Unfortunately, that proved to be his final appearance as Ritchson was eliminated from progressing any further in series three, which was ultimately won by Fantasia Barrino.
Height
Ritchson achieved breakthrough success after being cast in Prime Video's 2022 thriller series Reacher, adapted from the Lee Child book series of the same name.
In the novels, Reacher is depicted as standing at an imposing 6ft 5in with "biceps like basketballs" and "hands the size of dinner plates".
Whilst Ritchson doesn't quite match the character's stature, he comes remarkably close to Reacher's required height at 6ft 3in.
Speaking to Swedish YouTube channel Kinowetter, Ritchson said: "There was a lot of effort put into finding a Reacher that fit the description.
"A lot of that is out of my control so the stars just happened to align for me, I happened to be the right size, come available at the right time and it all worked out so I come at this with a lot of gratitude."
Mental health
At 36-years-old, Ritchson experienced an "existential crisis" and attempted suicide.
After the incident, he consulted his doctor who subsequently diagnosed the actor with bipolar disorder, and he now describes mental health as an "everyday conversation" for him.
In subsequent years, Ritchson began acquiring tattoos to chronicle his life story, including one featuring two overlapping masks the ancient Greeks employed to symbolise both comedy and tragedy.
"Being bipolar has wreaked havoc on my life many, many times", he confessed to The Hollywood Reporter.
"I would wish it away if I could, but it's so much a part of who I am now that I should celebrate it a little or, at least, accept it."
Wife
In terms of his romantic life, Ritchson hasn't faced any issues as he met his wife Catherine Ritchson at a ballet class in Florida whilst they were still in school.
The couple briefly dated during the early stages of their relationship but rekindled their romance in 2004 and subsequently tied the knot in May 2006.
He now has three children with the financial analyst, Calem, Edan and Amory, with the star referring to Catherine as his "biggest cheerleader".
War Machine is available to watch on Netflix.
