Alan Ritchson has built a reputation for playing heroes who never hesitate to chase down the bad guy. But one of his most memorable action scenes didn’t happen on a film set. It unfolded during what was supposed to be a quiet date night with his wife.
The actor found himself making a split-second decision after witnessing something he simply couldn’t ignore. What followed turned an ordinary evening into a real-life crime chase that fans can easily compare to his adventures on ‘Reacher.’
Alan Ritchson Couldn’t Ignore A Crime In Progress
Ritchson recounted the incident during an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. When Fallon asked whether he had ever been an action hero in real life, the actor immediately remembered a night in Old Montreal while he was on a break from filming.
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He and his wife, Catherine, had dressed up for dinner and were walking through the city’s cobblestone streets at sunset. That’s when Catherine noticed something unusual. A man’s feet were dangling out of a parked car, while broken glass surrounded the vehicle.
Moments later, the man climbed out carrying several duffel bags and ran straight toward them. Catherine quickly realized they had just witnessed a car break-in and urged her husband not to get involved. “I love justice, right? You know, who doesn’t?” Ritchson told Fallon.
“I’m not going to wait for the clumsy, you know, fickle justice system to take care of things for us. I’ll do it myself.” As the suspect ran past, Ritchson said they locked eyes. He immediately felt he had to do something.
“My wife looks in my eyes, and she goes, ‘We’re on a date.’ I go, ‘Please, I have to do this,'” he recalled. Ignoring Catherine’s warning, the actor admitted he slipped into what fans would probably recognize as “instant Reacher mode” and sprinted after the man.
The Chase Ended Like Something Straight Out Of ‘Reacher’
The suspect already had a head start by the time Ritchson began chasing him. After turning one corner, the actor briefly lost sight of him until a bystander shouted that the man was hiding underneath a nearby van. Ritchson looked under the vehicle and spotted him only a few feet away.
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The burglar immediately took off again, dropping one of the stolen duffel bags as he tried to escape. The chase continued for several more blocks before Ritchson finally caught up. Running side by side, he warned the suspect not to make things worse. Instead, the man raised his fists and tried to shove the actor.
“I gently take him like a shot put, like a discus,” Ritchson said. “And I twirl him right into the building, and he slides down like a cartoon character in real life.” The actor held the man there until local police arrived and made the arrest.
Ritchson later shared more details about the story during an appearance on The View. He admitted that Catherine was “very, very mad” after he put himself in danger and turned their romantic evening into a foot chase. Fortunately, they still made it to dinner once everything was over.
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