Joe Manganiello Believed Tom Cruise Blocked Him From Jack Reacher Role
The actor's team suspected a past relationship between Cruise and Sofia Vergara, Manganiello's then-wife, played a role in his casting being vetoed for the Amazon series.
Joe Manganiello has revealed that his team suspected Tom Cruise may have been behind his unsuccessful audition for the role of Jack Reacher in the Amazon series "Reacher." Manganiello, who is 6-foot-5, auditioned for the part in January 2020. He discussed the process in his upcoming book, "Bloodlines."
During his initial meeting with Don Granger, then president of feature films at Skydance Media, Manganiello was told that the series was specifically seeking actors over 6-foot-2 to address past fan backlash regarding Tom Cruise's height in the "Jack Reacher" films. Cruise, who is 5-foot-7, starred as Reacher in two movies.
Manganiello's team was reportedly told by Granger that he was the closest physical match to the character described in Lee Child's novels, and that the book's author and Skydance owner David Ellison were thrilled with his performance after a screen test. Showrunner Nick Santora was also reportedly impressed, to the point of writing the rest of the season with Manganiello in mind.
However, the casting decision reportedly hit a snag when it reached Jen Salke, then-head of Amazon MGM Studios. Manganiello claims Salke was angered by being excluded from the process and felt she was being pressured into a decision by male producers. Manganiello also noted that Salke had favored "Smallville" star Tom Welling for the role.
Manganiello's team later speculated that Cruise, who was an executive producer on the film adaptations, may have vetoed Manganiello's casting due to his past brief relationship with Sofia Vergara, who was married to Manganiello at the time. The actor recounts that Vergara had told him she broke up with Cruise because she refused to take an E-Meter test at a Scientology center.
"It was all just speculation," Manganiello wrote. "No one would tell me what the hell happened."
This was not the only instance where Manganiello felt his height was an issue for a "Jack Reacher" project. He also auditioned for a villain role in the 2016 film "Jack Reacher: Never Go Back." He claims the director, Ed Zwick, told him that Cruise would not allow him to be cast because he was too close to Reacher's described physique: "Big, tall, bearded, jacked."
The role of Jack Reacher in the Amazon series ultimately went to Alan Ritchson, who is also tall and physically imposing. The series has been renewed for a sixth season.