‘Jack Reacher’ author says Tom Cruise is too short for potential TV show

Tom Cruise as Jack
Reacher.
Paramount

• The author of the “Jack Reacher” book series, Lee Child, said
  Tom Cruise is not big enough in physical stature to play his
  character anymore.
• Child told BBC Radio that the franchise is moving from the
  big screen to a TV series, likely on a streaming service. And he
  doesn’t want Cruise to play the character going forward.
• A source close to the deal confirmed to Business Insider that
  the franchise is being shopped around, however, Cruise, who is
  also a producer on the franchise, is still involved.

The author behind the Jack Reacher book series, Lee Child, isn’t
shy to give his thoughts about why Tom Cruise isn’t the right
choice to play the character anymore.

In a recent interview with BBC Radio, Child said though he has
enjoyed working with Cruise on the two theatrical releases
focused on his famous character, 2012’s “Jack Reacher” and 2016’s
“Jack Reacher: Never Go Back,” the global superstar just isn’t
imposing enough to play Reacher — a former major in the military
police who is now a civilian helping people dealing with bad
guys.

“Ultimately the readers are right,” Child said. “The size of
Reacher is really, really important and it’s a big component of
who he is.”

Throughout Cruise’s career his height (it’s listed on his
Wikipedia page as 5’ 7”) has always been a topic the tabloids
love to write about (his ex-wife Nicole Kidman famously joked
she could now wear high heels after they split). But it hasn’t
stopped him from being the biggest action star in the world for
decades.

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Still, despite Cruise’s worldwide box-office draw, Lee is making
it publicly known he believes there’s someone better out there to
play the character.

“The idea is that when Reacher walks into a room, you’re all a
little nervous just for that first minute. And Cruise, for all
his talent, didn’t have that physicality,” said Lee, who in his
books describes Reacher as over six feet in height and hands the
size of dinner plates. “So what I’ve decided to do is — there
won’t be any more films with Tom Cruise. Instead we’re going to
take it to Netflix or something like that. Long form streaming
television, with a completely new actor.”

Business Insider confirmed with a source close to the deal that
the franchise is being shopped for TV or streaming. All parties
that were involved in the films — Paramount, Skydance Media, and
yes, Tom Cruise (who is also a producer on the franchise) — are
all still involved.

Clearly Lee’s tactic here is to get Cruise out, but it’s
dangerous to call out one of the most powerful people in
Hollywood.