Alan Ritchson, the star of Amazon’s Reacher, recently made a video addressing Christians who criticize him for playing a “morally ambiguous” character on television.
“It’s funny to me how a lot of people criticize me, supposed Christians especially, criticize me for playing Reacher. As if the only TV that should exist is seeing people silently folding their hands in the pew of a church. I mean, what kind of stories are we supposed to tell?,” Ritchson, a professing Christian himself, said in a YouTube video posted January 7.
The series, which follows the Jack Reacher novels, is about how Reacher, a retired military police officer, "is arrested for a murder he did not commit."
“He finds himself in the middle of a deadly conspiracy full of dirty cops, shady businessmen, and scheming politicians. With nothing but his wits, he must figure out what is happening in Margrave, Georgia," the show's synopsis reads, according to IMDB.
In the video, Ritchson points out how the Bible is full of characters who were anything but perfect, Faithwire reports.
In both Old and New Testaments, one can see "a thousand years of an infinitely holy God holding tension with human beings as he tells the story of who he is, reveals who he is through an imperfect people."
As reported by Deseret News, the actor shared why he feels comfortable playing the character despite being morally ambiguous.
"God is completely unafraid to tell the story of who he is through less than morally ambiguous characters, through pure evil sometimes. ...I think it’s laughable when people criticize me for playing characters who aren’t saintly," Ritchson said.
“I think we can start conversations and we can reach people through these mediums in a way that I think God enjoys,” he said.
Aside from Reacher, Ritchson has appeared in several films, including Fast X, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
He will also star in the upcoming faith-based film Ordinary Angels alongside actress Hilary Swank. The film is slated to release on February 23, 2024.
Image credit: ©Bryan Steffy / Stringer
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.